2024-04-10 06:14:16
2024-04-10 14:14 United News Network 24 Hours Around the Corner Kazakh emergency rescue team rescued residents in the disaster area.Photo/AFP
【2024. 4. 10 Russia/Kazakhstan】
Melting snow causes floods?Floods on the border between Russia and Kazakhstan have forced more than 100,000 people to evacuate
Kazakhstan and Russia have been hit by floods for nearly a week. The governments of the two countries have evacuated more than 100,000 people. The water level is still rising and is expected to reach its peak in 10 days. The floods killed at least five people, flooded tens of thousands of houses in Russia, and destroyed a dam. It may be the worst flood in 80 years. The main reason for the flood is that a large amount of snow in the upper reaches of the Ural River melted prematurely. Abnormal phenomena caused by warming cannot be ruled out. However, preliminary investigations show that the dam, which is only 10 years old, may have been neglected to maintain, which worsened the disaster. Hundreds of Russian victims also gathered to protest against the ineffective disaster relief. , calling on President Putin to “help”.
The Ural River on the border between Russia and Kazakhstan has been overflowing for days. Russia’s official media “TASS” reported that the floods killed at least 5 people and destroyed more than 10,400 houses. The preliminary loss is estimated to be more than 21 billion rubles ( (approximately NT$7 billion), the Russian government declared a state of emergency for the entire southwestern Orenburg state on the 7th.
“Reuters” reported that the water level of the Ulla River in Orenburg, the state capital, rose to 9.31 meters on the evening of the 9th. Because the warning water level exceeded 9.3 meters, Governor Denis Pasler called on the city to 550,000 residents were evacuated as soon as possible. However, judging from photos and aerial footage, roads in many areas have long turned into rivers, with traditional wooden houses soaked in the river water. The disaster relief team can only row boats to rescue stranded residents.
The upper reaches of the Ural River also washed away an earth-rock dam in Orsk, Orenburg Region, on April 5. The water level of the Osker river surged to 9.7 meters due to floods, and the earth-rock dam was originally designed to only withstand a water level of 5.5 meters, which shows the seriousness of the flooding. Russia’s emergency response department pointed out on the 9th that although water levels in some areas have receded, the entire region still faces difficult challenges. The Osker District Attorney’s Office stated that the dam that was destroyed was just built in 2014, but it was suspected of being neglected. The authorities have launched an investigation to see whether jerry-rigging or irregularities caused the dam to collapse.
The Russian city of Orsk, near the Kazakh border, was flooded.Photo/European News Agency
Hundreds of angry victims in Orsk also gathered in a rare gathering on the 9th to express their dissatisfaction. They shouted “shameless” in front of the city hall, accusing the local government of providing too little actual assistance and subsidies to the victims, and called on Putin to “help.” ”. The Kremlin only responded that Putin was aware of the latest situation and that it did not plan to go to investigate the disaster for the time being. He also said that local governments are doing their best to deal with the disaster. The Orenburg state prosecutor also warned residents not to participate in large-scale gatherings: “Please note that this gathering did not cooperate with the legal procedures of the authorities.”
In the face of the protests, Governor Pasler also responded strongly, saying that “it is easy to blame others” and said that some protesters lost control and became “some kind of mob.” He also called on citizens to unite, saying that he had not slept or changed clothes for several days, and praised those citizens who were assisting in disaster relief as “real patriots.” “Unfortunately, when you get into trouble, some people show up,” Passler said.
The governor of the Kurgan region, Vadim Shumkov, called on the public to take evacuation orders seriously, pointing out that some residents were unwilling to evacuate. He said: “We all understand your feelings. It is not easy to obey the government’s instructions and leave your belongings and move to other places. We would rather laugh at the hydrologists and praise God’s miracles together, but at least we must survive first.” “
“Euronews” reported that the flood-stricken areas have just entered spring and are about to usher in the annual snowmelt season. However, the early warming weather has caused a large amount of snowmelt, causing many rivers to swell and become flooded. Scientists initially believe that it may be caused by climate change. Anomalies.
The Ural River, which is mainly flooding this time, originates from the southern Ural Mountains in Russia. It is the third longest river in Europe and the fourth largest inland river in the world. It flows through the Russian Federation and Kazakhstan and then empties into the Caspian Sea. Another overflowing Tobol River flows from Kazakhstan into Russia and is one of the main tributaries of the Irtysh River. The city of Kurgan, located in the lower reaches of the Tobol River and the Russian section of the basin, also believes that the water level will continue to rise within three days. It has asked about 310,000 local residents to evacuate urgently, of which at least 19,000 people live in extremely dangerous areas. area. Water levels in more tributaries also continue to rise.
Tyumen, located in Western Siberia, Russia, has also entered a state of emergency. Tyumen is the world’s largest oil and gas reserve, and many Russian oil companies are located here. Floods may have a huge impact on the oil and gas industry. Minister of Emergency Response Alexander Kurenkov has arrived in the disaster area to take command. The Kremlin said: “Kurgan and Tyumen still have difficult days to face, and more floods will come.”
In Orsk, a Russian city near the Kazakh border, a cemetery was flooded. Photo/Associated Press Kazakh emergency rescue teams perform tasks in border areas after floods.Photo/European News Agency
Northwest Kazakhstan was also hit hard by the Ural River floods. More than 10 regions have entered a state of emergency. At least 86,000 residents were forced to evacuate, including more than 29,000 children. The national army also dispatched disaster relief. Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said this was the worst flood in Kazakhstan in 80 years. The Kazakh authorities also promised to allocate special funds to provide disaster compensation when the rescue progress is completed. Russian President Vladimir Putin has spoken with Tokayev to discuss the disaster.
Kazakh media “Astana Times”report, as many as 8,472 people were urgently resettled, about half of whom were children, and more than 80,000 livestock were also relocated. The rescue hotline received at least a thousand calls for help, and the Kazakh authorities also sent psychologists to provide emergency psychological support to the victims. The water storage capacity of the four detention ponds in the hardest-hit West Kazakhstan region has reached an average of 65%, but the inflow of water is still as high as 690 cubic meters per second, and is expected to reach its peak this week.
On the 8th, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan issued a message of condolences on the Get rid of dependence on Russia, actively establish cooperation with other countries, and have good relations with Azerbaijan. (Extended reading: Fuck your Soviet dream? One year after the Ukraine-Russia war, Central Asian countries are accelerating to get rid of “Russian influence”)
Since the weather has not yet fully warmed up, 15% of Kazakhstan’s land is still covered in snow. Moldir Abdualiyeva, Minister of Water Resources, said that artificial technology is being used to clear Western Kazakhstan and Atyrau District (Atyrau). Regions), the riverbed is ice-accumulated, hoping to speed up the dredging of the river. The Ministry of Water Resources has also established a national hydrogeography team to observe groundwater levels and plan how to rationally allocate groundwater, including drinking water, irrigation and grazing water sources, etc.
Indian environmental media “Donw To Earth”point outaccording to a 2020 study by academicians of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the temperature in the Ural River Basin has been rising over the past century. From the end of the 19th century to 2018, the average temperature in many local areas increased by at least 2 to 3°C. Annual rainfall increased by 40 to 68 mm.
Despite a slight increase in rainfall, Kazakhstan’s energy industry and grain exports have developed strongly in recent years. Despite rapid economic growth, Kazakhstan still faces serious water loss and desertification problems. Available in 2018ResearchIt is estimated that by 2050, Kazakhstan’s average climate temperature will rise by 4°C compared with before the industrial revolution, the average water level of rivers will drop by 40%, and the proportion of desert land will increase from 60% to 76%.
This is not the first time that Kazakhstan’s natural environment has been affected by human impacts.The border between Kazakhstan and UzbekistanAral Sea(Aral Sea) was once the fourth largest lake in the world. However, the Soviet Union changed the river course and diverted water to irrigate farmland in the 1960s, causing the Aral Sea to continue to shrink. In the 2010s, less than 10% of the lake area remained. In recent years, due to restoration plans jointly promoted by various countries, And restore a little bit of area. Competition for water resources has occasionally led to disputes between Kazakhstan and neighboring countries such as Russia, China, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan.
Residents of Kazakh disaster areas who escaped safely.Photo/AFP
Text/Wang Yingzhi
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