Catastrophic floods have submerged large areas of south-western Russia and north-western Kazakhstan since April 3, 2024. To date, floods have affected 15 641 homes and 27 993 garden plots in Russia, prompting widespread evacuations and the declaration of state emergencies in affected areas. Nearly 111 200 people were evacuated in Kazakhstan and approximately 5 500 homes were flooded.
A rapidly-spreading forest fire in the Abai region of northeastern Kazakhstan has resulted in the deaths of 14 emergency workers and prompted evacuations. The blaze, which began on June 8 in the Batpayev forestry, has so far consumed approximately 60 000 ha (148 260 acres) of land.
More than 75 000 people evacuated their homes in the border areas of Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan following a reservoir dam failure, which resulted in widespread flooding on May 1, 2020. The Sardoba Reservoir Dam on the Uzbek side broke early Friday, causing the Syr…
Heavy snowfall and blizzard in Kazakhstan's capital city Nur-Sultan in January 2020 equaled the weather record in 1964, according to Kazgidromet Alua Sakhanova, the chief of the department of short-term forecasts on January 29. The statement comes just a couple…
A new study concludes that the season in which earthquake happens can affect the impact of ground failure and potential destruction. The paper, published in Seismological Research Letters journal, said the 1887 Magnitude 7.3 Verny earthquake and the nearby 1911…
Severe floods are wreaking havoc across Kazakhstan over the past couple of days after this season's above-average snow started to melt, increasing river levels across the country. Floods forced thousands to evacuate, destroyed houses and power lines, roads,…
A warm spell triggered a destructive glacial lake outburst flood along the Kargalinka River threathening residents of Almaty, the largest city in Kazakhstan, earlier this month. A state of emergency has been declared across the affected areas of Almaty.NASA's Earth
Three areas in the Almaty region of southern Kazakhstan have been affected by the mudflow outbursts of the Kargalinka river, July 23, 2015. Local media reported 5 injuries and 900 people evacuated from their homes. A state of emergency has been declared across the affec
The Aral Sea was once the world’s fourth largest lake or inland sea – a rich haven for fish, birds and other wildlife. The Aral Sea began to shrink in the 1960s, when massive diversion of water for cotton and rice cultivation under the Soviet Union drained the two
The size of the Aral Sea has long hinged on the Amu Darya, which flows from the high Pamir Mountains in central Asia, across the desert, and into the southern sea. While two rivers empty into the lake—the Amu Darya and the Syr Darya—the Amu Darya is the largest and
