Kazakhstan creates special emergency task force to combat potential floods

Tengrinews.kz – A special task force of personnel and equipment has been formed to combat potential flooding. This was announced by Minister for Emergency Situations Chingis Arinov at a meeting of the national emergency response headquarters chaired by Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov.
According to the minister, a task force of more than 39,000 people and over 18,000 units of machinery and special equipment has been set up to respond to possible floods.
The main resources will be concentrated in high-risk regions – North Kazakhstan, Akmola, Karaganda, East Kazakhstan and Abai regions.

“Operational reinforcement of forces and equipment in flood-prone areas is also envisaged. An additional reserve of the Ministry of Emergency Situations has been created, including 930 personnel, 113 units of equipment, 35 boats and 99 motor pumps. These units can be quickly deployed to the most vulnerable areas,” the ministry’s statement says.

The Ministry of Emergency Situations reported that it conducted “Koktem” command-staff exercises to test the readiness of civil protection services to fight floods.
Across the country, 3,857 temporary accommodation centres have been prepared with a total capacity of more than 1.4 million people.

“We are pre-positioning forces in the most vulnerable regions and continuously monitoring the hydrological situation. If the situation worsens, additional units will be promptly dispatched to flood zones,” Chingis Arinov noted.

The emergency headquarters of the ministry is operating around the clock, with continuous monitoring of 1,242 flood-prone settlements. All civil protection services are on high alert, the ministry added.