IRIN
TAJIKISTAN: Bad weather causes havoc in south
3 May 2006


[This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United 
Nations]

ANKARA, 3 May (IRIN) - Landslides and floods triggered by torrential 
rains have damaged farmlands and infrastructure in southern Tajikistan, 
the country's emergencies ministry said on Wednesday.

"Heavy rain and hail, along with floods, have caused extensive damage to 
farmlands and cotton plantations in the six districts of the southern 
Khatlon province, including Yavan, Khorasan, Dangara, Muminabad, 
Shurabad and Temur-Malik," Jamila Tiloeva, a spokeswoman for the Tajik 
emergencies ministry, said from the capital, Dushanbe.

"The bad weather has claimed the life of a local resident in the 
Khorasan district. The total amount of damage incurred is still being 
assessed," Tiloeva added.

More than 3,000 ha of cotton have been damaged by the torrential rains 
and subsequent mudflows, mainly in the south, Kadyr Kasymov, deputy 
agriculture minister was quoted by the Tajik Avesta news agency as 
saying.

According to the Tajik emergencies agency, the bad weather has prevailed 
in the area for more than one week disrupting life and damaging 
infrastructure, including roads and bridges.

In the town of Rogun, some 100 km east of Dushanbe, a landslide on 
Sunday caused by torrential rains destroyed the only water pipeline 
feeding the town, leaving some 13,000 residents without access to clean 
drinking water.

"The landslide buried around 100 metres of the water pipeline, blocking 
the flow of water. The local authorities and emergency units are 
currently providing clean drinking water to the affected populations by 
trucks. The repair work is under way and residents should get the water 
supply back soon," the emergency official explained.

Tajikistan is prone to various natural disasters, including landslides, 
avalanches, floods and earthquakes. According to the World Bank, each 
year the mountainous Central Asian state experiences around 50,000 
landslides, some 5,000 tremors and earthquakes, and hundreds of 
avalanches and debris flows. These natural disasters exacerbate poverty 
and hinder economic progress in the impoverished country, where more 
than 60 percent of the population lives below the national poverty line.

According to the European Commission Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO), 
natural disasters, including landslides, floods and earthquakes, have 
killed about 2,500 people and affected some 5.5 million (almost 10 
percent of the total population) in the five Central Asian republics - 
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan - over 
the past decade.


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