More than 32,000 people return to their homes, almost 13 mln cu.m. of melt water pumped out as Kazakhstan continues to battle floods

According to the latest information by the Ministry of Emergency Situations, 38,254 people have returned to their homes throughout the republic. At the same time, 6,727 people continue to be in evacuation centers, ready for evacuation if necessary. Since the beginning of the floods, more than 12.9 million cubic meters of melt water have been pumped out. As part of the flood control, 7 million bags and 1.5 million tons of inert material were laid, Kazinform News Agency correspondent reports.

In total, more than 20 thousand people and 2,772 pieces of equipment are involved in rescue and flood control operations, including 335 water pumping equipment and 249 watercraft, as well as 7 aircraft.

Over the past 24 hours, more than 500 kilometers of dams have been built in the cities of Atyrau, Inder, Makhambet, Isatay and Kurmangazy districts. In the city of Kulsary, more than 207 thousand cubic meters of water were successfully pumped out from flooded areas using mobile pumping stations and motor pumps.

Civil protection services continue active flood control measures, including eliminating the consequences of floods and providing assistance to the population in several regions of the country, including Atyrau, Aktobe, Akmola, West and North Kazakhstan regions.

In light of the successful completion of the assigned tasks, part of the forces and resources of the Ministry of Emergency Situations from the cities of Astana, Turkistan and Kostanay regions, as well as Kazselezaschita, previously sent to the North Kazakhstan region to combat floods, are returning to their permanent locations.

Part of the forces and assets of the Ministry of Defense, previously sent to the West and North Kazakhstan regions, returned to their places of permanent deployment from the city of Almaty and the Karaganda region in connection with the successful completion of the assigned tasks.

In the Atyrau region, monitoring of the water level of the Zhaiyk River continues, and bank protection work is also being carried out. Over the past 24 hours, 500 thousand bags were laid in several areas and more than 196 thousand cubic meters of water were pumped out in the city of Kulsary.

The military unit of the Ministry of Defense in the Aktobe region successfully disinfected flooded areas with a total area of 403 hectares, which helped restore normal living conditions in the affected areas.

The Public Relations Team of the Department of Emergency Situations of Aktobe Region shared a story of the rescuer of the operational rescue squad, Chingiz Mukaev, who devoted 17 years to serving the fire service and today continues his hard work in the operational rescue squad. This hero shared his impressive experience of saving people during floods.

On the evening of March 30, an order was received for an urgent rescue operation in the Uil area, where there was severe flooding. Chingiz and his team were tasked with using a helicopter to rescue people.

Upon arrival at the scene, rescuers noticed a woman sitting on the roof of the bathhouse. Chingiz climbed down to the roof using climbing gear and a winch and quickly strapped the woman into the gear to evacuate her to a helicopter. Using a similar scheme, he saved a man sitting on the roof of a tractor. “The main thing for us is saving human lives,” Chingiz emphasizes.

Hotline numbers in the Ministry of Emergency Situations and the Departments of Emergency Situations of Aktobe, West Kazakhstan, Akmola, Atyrau and North Kazakhstan regions continue to function. Psychologists and medical personnel work at evacuation centers to provide support to victims.