In early April, residents of areas of Tajikistan suffered from heavy rains and landslides. As a result of the natural disasters, a child was killed and several residents were left homeless and are now forced to sleep outside.
Hundreds of houses, buildings and service facilities were also destroyed, roads washed away, power lines ruined, orchards and fields devastated, and people lost their livestock. A child was killed in Khatlon province.
The flooding on April 4 destroyed more than 100 houses in Pakhtakor village, Pyanj District, in Khatlon Oblast, and flooded crops. Most residents who suffered from the disaster say the flooding began in the middle of the night from the third to the fourth of April. When the water flooded their residential yards, they did not even have time to put away their beds.
Sirojiddin Gurezov, a resident of Pakhtakor village, was left homeless. According to him, even after a week, the affected residents still have not recovered from the shock. Some have moved to the houses of relatives and acquaintances, while he sleeps in a mosque in the nearest village.
“Fortunately, the villagers don’t keep to themselves. Every day young men from surrounding villages come and help us clean the mud and flood waters from the houses,” says Sirojiddin.
Today, bulldozers and excavators are clearing houses and roads in the area.
According to another resident of the area, Rakhmatullo Jalolov, there are more than 400 yards in Pakhtakor village, most of which are flooded. District officials have visited them and registered all the affected residents.
“Every day food is prepared in the village mosque, as most of the men from the affected families are now sleeping there,” he says.
According to Rakhmatullo Jalolov, this is not the first time the flooding has caused damage to residents of the village. In 2018, for example, the flooding destroyed several houses in the village. At that time, the executive authorities of the Panj district built houses for the affected residents. However, now people do not know whether the district authorities will help them or not.
Sirodzhiddin Gurezov said they are in dire need of food now. Flooding has destroyed all food supplies and household utensils.
“There is nothing but walls in our houses. Everything will have to be rebuilt,” our source adds.
According to the Committee on Emergency Situations of Tajikistan, floods were recorded in several districts of Sughd Oblast after heavy rains. There were no human casualties, but roads, residents’ vehicles, and apricot orchards were damaged.
According to interviewees of CABAR.asia, the rains caused damage to most of the residents in districts 3, 14-15 of Khujand city and the Yova community of Bobojon Gafurov district.
For example, in district 3 of Khujand, roads, basements, and even some of the houses were filled with mud due to flooding. A number of animals have also died.
On April 2, the flood inundated the yard and house of Umriniso Usmonova, a resident of District 3 in Khujand. She was at home with her three children when the flood started, but they managed to climb over the wall of the yard and escape.
All of the family’s property, including household equipment and household items, was completely destroyed.
Many affected residents of these neighborhoods are concerned that the local authorities are not helping them and hope that they will be compensated at least partially.
The Sogd authorities have not yet officially announced the total amount of damage caused by the April 2 earthquake. It seems that the number of destroyed houses is higher than the figures given in the official information of the authorities. Most of the victims are waiting for help from the authorities.
According to Abdulhamid Kayumov, director of the State Scientific Institution “Glacier Research Center” at the National Academy of Tajikistan, the only way to reduce damage from natural disasters is by conducting new scientific research.
“The solution to the problem should be sought before it happens,” Kayumov said.
He noted that in Soviet times there was a flood prevention service that collected and analyzed all the information about natural disasters.
“It is necessary for the relevant institutions to identify the areas that are most frequently affected by floods and carry out bank protection work in advance, clean out ditches and canals, and reinforce flood roads,” Kayumov said.
The arrival of floods sometimes costs residents millions of somoni.
“If these floods are detected earlier and their flow is normalized, then maybe such a huge amount of money will not be spent to repair the damage caused by the flood,” Kayumov added.