In Kazakhstan, the construction
of 20 new reservoirs in the Akmola, Karagandy, Almaty, Zhambyl, Turkistan,
Kyzylorda, Aktobe, East Kazakhstan, and West Kazakhstan regions is planned to
be completed by 2030 to reduce the risk of flooding in 70 villages with a
population of 137,000 people. This was announced by the country’s Minister of
Water Resources and Irrigation Nurzhan Nurzhigitov at a government meeting. Additionally,
reconstruction of 15 operating reservoirs will commence in nine regions of the
country, the minister noted. This measure will further decrease the hazards
during the spring floods for 64 more villages with 75,000 residents. It is
noteworthy that a comprehensive plan to prevent floods will be developed in
Kazakhstan.
“Lessons need to be learned and
new approaches need to be implemented. It is important to timely inform the
population about all steps of the ongoing work and conduct a detailed analysis
of the current flood situation with identification of the causes that
contributed to the significant flooding and development of proposals for their
elimination. Each region, taking into account its geographical specifics and
weather conditions, should update its action plan. In this regard, I instruct
the country’s Emergency Situations Ministry, together with the concerned state
bodies and local authorities, to develop a flood prevention plan for 2025-2029.
Experienced industry experts should be involved in this work,” said Kazakh
Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov.
