SEVERE FLOODING IN TAJIKISTAN
On the night of May 7, a terrible natural disaster occurred in the Kulyab region of Khatlon province in the south of Tajikistan. A flash flood took tens of lives and left thousands homeless. The Government reports that at least forty people were killed in the disaster. The mudflow and flooding continued in other districts of Tajikistan. In total the disaster destroyed houses and belongings of 4,500 people in the town of Kulyab.
In the surrounding rural areas, 16,000 people were also directly affected by the disaster: some had their houses destroyed; others suffered significant losses in their livelihoods when their crops and agricultural land were buried under mud and rocks or their livestock were killed. Of these, 3,000 people are currently living with host families or in their damaged houses. Furthermore, some 70,000 people were unable to access safe drinking water. Authorities report that eight schools were damaged. One of these, hosting 365 pupils, is totally destroyed.
The spring of 2010 is characterized by abnormally heavy rainfall in Tajikistan which trigger avalanches, floods, mud and rock flows, and landslides in many of the country’s districts. Local hazards, sometimes with human casualties, were recorded in more than twenty districts all over Tajikistan. These natural disasters destroyed and damaged houses and infrastructure and had a negative effect on people’s livelihoods, killing their livestock, and damaging crops and agricultural land.
It should be noted that Tajikistan is a disaster-prone country, 93 percent of its territory consisting of mountains. Thus, it frequently suffers from recurrent natural hazards like floods, mudflows and landslides. In addition, it is situated in a seismic high-risk zone; for instance in 2006 an earthquake in Qumsangir district in the south of the country destroyed 2,600 houses. According to the data of the Committee on Emergency Situations and Civil Defense (CoES) of Tajikistan, during the period between 2000 and 2009 at least 2,000 people were affected by disasters each year, with a peak in 2008 when 2 million people severely suffered from an extremely cold winter.
From the beginning of the current year, the Government reports and rapid assessments conducted by international organizations report that as a result of natural disasters, 4,104 houses were already damaged, of which 683 were fully destroyed by this and previous disasters caused by spring rainfall. In addition, 19 health centers and 78 schools and pre-schools were affected. Other significant infrastructure damages include 424 kilometers of roads, 130 bridges, 59 kilometers of dikes and river embankments, and 48 kilometers of water supply lines and sewage pipes. About 3,100 livestock perished and tens of thousands hectares of agricultural land and pastures were covered with mud or stones or otherwise rendered unusable. The government estimates the total damage in Kulyab town and all other districts affected by disasters in 2010 at US $600 million.
When torrential rains hit the town of Kulyab and the surrounding districts of Baljuvon, Khovaling, Kulyab, Muminabad, Shurabad, Temurmalik and Vose on May 7, the Tebalay mudflow canal in Kulyab town and the Surkhob and Yakhsu rivers burst their banks. The resulting flash floods accompanied by rock flows and debris killed 40 people and another 33 remain missing. Over 300 people were injured, with at least 85 sustaining grave injuries and being hospitalized. This is the highest number of casualties caused by a single disaster in Tajikistan in over a decade. In fact, the expected death toll of this single event surpasses the total number of deaths caused by disasters in any one year since 2000.
In the aftermath of the crisis, the Tajik Government and aid agencies delivered life-saving assistance to the 4,500 displaced, who are currently staying in tent camps. Besides, local communities and authorities, supported by CoES and one or two international organizations, were so far able to respond to the disaster by supporting the victims with primary relief assistance. However, the majority of the affected population remains in very poor conditions with little support from the Government or the international community. “Government and humanitarian partners in Tajikistan provided immediate relief from existing stocks. Now we count on the assistance of the international community to support the displaced people and the affected communities”, said Michael Jones, United Nations Resident Coordinator in Tajikistan.
All in all, the Government of Tajikistan found itself unable to provide help to the affected population. Therefore, the Government together with the humanitarian community launched an appeal on May 19 for US$ 5.3 million to provide relief and recovery assistance to thousands of people affected by the flashfloods in Kulyab and the surrounding districts in the south of Tajikistan.
