Global General
20 killed in floods in southern Kazakhstan
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-03-12 20:52
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ALMATY - At least 20 people were killed in floods caused by heavy rain and melting snow in southern Kazakhstan, the Interfax News Agency reported Friday.
About 60 buildings in the village in Alma-Atinskaya Oblast were devastated by the floods, and two people in a nearby village were swept away by the waters, the local emergency situations bureau said.
Rescue workers were busy searching for survivors, officials said.
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The floods submerged many buildings and even entire villages in the region. Major railroads and highway bridges across the country have been washed away, causing severe disruptions. More than 2,000 people in Alma-Atinskaya Oblast have been evacuated.
Southern Kazakhstan was affected by unusually heavy snowfalls this winter and rising temperatures are now causing massive flooding and mudslides across the region.
President Nursultan Nazarbayev on Friday ordered the establishment of a crisis management committee to provide all necessary assistance to victims.
"I extend profound condolences to the relatives of the victims, as well as to all those affected," Nazarbayev said in a statement on the presidential administration's official Web site.
Reports said Prime Minister Karim Masimov was scheduled to go to the disaster area on Saturday to command rescue works on the spot.
Hundreds of homes are destroyed annually by destructive floods in Kazakhstan during heavy rains and as snow begins to thaw in the early spring.
