Semey is being flooded with meltwater due to a sharp warming and rain. 15 flooded sections have been identified on the city's roads. Some cars are literally sinking in the water.
According to the press service of the Semey akimat, 10 sewage trucks, 6 mobile pumps and 6 tanker trucks were deployed to eliminate the flooding.
"Suction and sewer-jetting equipment is being used to clean the intake wells of the storm drainage system. To date, more than 1,500 cubic metres of water have been pumped out," the statement said.
It was also reported that work to pump out meltwater from Shchorsa, Kirpichnaya, 3rd Lodochkaya streets, and the Vostochny and Podgornaya settlements has been completed. Around 100 vehicles were involved in snow removal.
A similar situation is occurring in the Almaty region and the Zhetisu region. According to the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Republic of Kazakhstan, in the Zhetisu region, 10 yards of private residential houses at Beskol station in the Alakol district were flooded. It is reported that rescue services are carrying out work to divert meltwater and widen the irrigation canal.
In the Almaty region, meltwater streams flooded 5 yards in the village of Koskudyk. It is reported that there is no threat of flooding to residential buildings, and the level of incoming water is decreasing.
Meanwhile, founder of the FBRK and agricultural expert Kirill Pavlov believes that this is only the beginning. According to him, the Bogen Reservoir could burst in the Turkestan region in the near future.
"The Bogen Reservoir will burst - as sure as eggs is eggs, it will burst. I'm telling you as an expert. They should have concreted the banks, not filled them with broken kerbs. But for that, experienced people should have been dealing with the issue, not relatives of some official from the akimat," the public figure writes.
It is reported that the authorised persons decided to lower the water level to reduce the risk of the reservoir bursting. However, as the expert suggests, this will lead to a reduction in sown areas, which will ultimately result in a smaller harvest.
Despite this, earlier the authorities of the Aktobe, Almaty, Karaganda, Akmola, West Kazakhstan, North Kazakhstan, East Kazakhstan regions and the Abay region stated that they were almost fully prepared for floods.
According to the Department for Emergency Situations, the Abay region is among the areas with a high flood risk. It was reported that the possibility of flooding in the lowland part of the region is not ruled out. The potential flood zone includes 38 populated areas, containing 2,775 residential houses with a population of 10,053 people.
The Department for Emergency Situations of the Almaty region assured that, overall, the hydrometeorological situation in the region is stable today. The threat of floods is possible in areas of the Karasai, Zhambyl and Talgar districts.