We need to be ready for flood situation to worsen – Head of State Tokayev
Head of State Kassym-Jomart Tokayev chaired a meeting of the operational headquarters on the flood situation in West Kazakhstan region, Kazinform News Agency reports.
Currently, all the relevant structures work actively. There are several regions hit hard by floods. The level of flood waters is rising in several regions. This is a true natural disaster. A major work is ahead. We should come as one and confront it by joint efforts. There is no way around. Concrete measures are taken to liquidate the aftermath caused by the floods. Work is ongoing to prevent emergency situations. Upon my instruction, the heads of regional administrations take active action, A huge work is underway, said Tokayev.
The Head of State pointed out that the flood situation remains complex and added that floods of such a scale were not seen in the past. According to Tokayev, the similar situation was in 1997, however, the current floods were massive in terms of scale.
I examined the areas suffered from floods, witnessed the scale of the disaster and damage. Properties of people, infrastructure were badly damaged by water. Roads and bridges were washed away. Now, the main task is reconstruction after the major issues are tackled. I already gave an instruction to the government to prepare a special plan to construct new model homes and reconstruct the existing ones. I believe that we will solve these issues. The situation, as I said, is difficult. I think that under the leadership of the government and the republican headquarters, the regional administration heads will accomplish this task, said the Kazakh President.
President Tokayev noted that forecast estimates for the region are pessimistic and that it is important to be ready for the flood situation to worsen.
Lessons need to be learnt. Annual preparation for a flood period needs to begin in the summer-spring period and include three areas of work. Primarily, it’s forecast and analytical measures. The hydrometeorological service should thoroughly analyze forecast data and form scenarios of the situation in the upcoming flood period, said Tokayev.
The Head of State pointed to the importance of conducting organizational and preventive, engineering and technical and operational measures aimed at preventing and eliminating the aftermath of floods.
The problem our country faces today is the lack of personnel in the relevant area. This situation revealed this problem. We forgot this direction in education at the time. Now, it’s time to return back and begin training hydraulic engineers, irrigators and all specialists related to water in any way in no time, said the Kazakh President.
Tokayev tasked the government, authorized bodies and heads of regional administrations to ensure construction of new housing and rebuilding homes to be repaired, take measures to immediately restore utility and social infrastructure, control prices for socially significant foods and essential goods in regions hit by floods.
