Flooding and landslides lead to evacuation

The United Nations and other relief agencies were coordinating efforts with the Tajik authorities to rapidly relocate at least 621 families to a safer place after their villages were affected by flooding and landslides at the end of last month. UN officials told IRIN from the Tajik capital, Dushanbe, that several floods and landslides in the Aini district in the northern province of Sughd had affected several communities last month forcing the government to decide that residents should be moved away to safer areas. "There are 621 families that have to be moved," Andrea Recchia, a UN official, told IRIN. The two worst-affected villages have a total of 1089 families. The remaining families will be shifted to other areas after the initial target of 621 families relocated is met. The new relocation points are 21 km and 100 km away from the affected villages. "In the first phase temporary tent shelters will be provided," another UN official said, explaining that the Tajik authorities, with the help of the international aid community, was planning to construct permanent houses for these people in the second phase. According to local geologists, tectonic activity in the area is very high. Surface soil on three hilly areas in the Aini district have started sliding destroying all the infrastructure including at least 188 houses. Experts say deforestation often leads to unstable topsoil in mountain regions, leading to landslides. According to an OCHA situation report last month, rains and landslides in the area killed five people. The activity also destroyed dozens of houses and flooded roads connecting the villages with the main highway. Power transmission and communications lines were also cut, isolating the impoverished population. The poor Central Asian state of Tajikistan is prone to natural disasters, and the government's capacity to handle them effectively is restricted by a lack of resources.