More than 500 hydraulic structures in Kazakhstan intended to hold back water during floods need to be repaired, according to a report from the country’s Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation.
Specialists from the ministry, together with akimats (local administrations), counted 1,502 hydraulic structures in the country, of which 537 are damaged. According to the department, the hydraulic structures will be repaired as funds are received from the national budget.
The survey comes amid Kazakhstan’s battle with historic spring flooding, which has set in motion a frantic grind of evacuations, pumping water and shoring up dams. While the threat remains, water levels are declining in some areas and the country is working to help disaster victims over the long term.
Some 22,700 people who fled their homes to escape floodwaters have returned, and the flood situation has stabilized in some hard-hit places such as the Aktobe region, according to the government. Still, thousands of residents — many of them children — remain in evacuation centers, whilst others are in temporary housing. More than 100,000 people have been evacuated over the course of the crisis, which began in March as snow melted quickly in the warmer weather.
