Dam burst displaces over 70,000 in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan

A dam located at the Sardoba Reservoir burst late last week and led to significant flooding along the Syr Darya River near the Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan border. It is being reported that over 70,000 people have been displaced. 

The area that has been hit hardest is along the Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan border, namely near the Syr Darya River, where the dam was finished in 2007. The dam failed on May 1 causing water to rush downstream. 

An aerial view shows the flooded area following the burst of a reservoir dam in the Syr Darya river basin in the southern Turkestan province, Kazakhstan, in this handout photo released May 2, 2020. Committee for Emergency Situations of Ministry of Internal Affairs of Kazakhstan/Handout via REUTERS

The New York Post reports that about 70,000 people in Uzbekistan and 5,400 people in Kazakhstan have been evacuated from many villages along the river. 

It is being reported that 50 people have been hospitalized in Uzbekistan by The Nation. There has not been any reports of fatalities. 

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Weather observations from around the region show near-normal rainfall since the beginning of April. 

After a few showers across the region on Monday and Tuesday, AccuWeather meteorologists expect mostly dry weather to persist across the region into at least early next week.

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