An emergency situation was declared in Jalal-Abad and Talas regions. Deputy Minister of Emergency Situations of Kyrgyzstan Urmatbek Shamyrkanov announced at a briefing.
He clarified that the emergency situation does not apply to all regions, but locally, to those places where mudslides occurred.
According to Urmatbek Shamyrkanov, civil protection forces are calculating material damage from mudflows.
«There were rains in all cases. We cannot predict when a mudflow will occur, where, or in what volume. We have been issuing weather alerts for the past five years. But we cannot give specific data where this may happen. Because of this, it is premature to blame anyone for whether they were ready or not,» he noted.
At least 30 mudflows were registered in Kyrgyzstan from April 20 to April 22. Mudflows hit Jalal-Abad and Talas regions today, April 23. More than 200 residential buildings were flooded. Earlier, an emergency situation was declared in Osh region.
