Heavy snow disrupts life in capital and north

Nearly 900 people stranded on the roads in central and northern Kazakhstan following heavy snowfall have been rescued, according to the country's emergency ministry. "In [the northern] Kostanai province some 800 people, mainly fishermen, were evacuated to Kostanai city [provincial capital] on Sunday. They were caught by heavy snow and trapped on the roads," Kairat Tarbaev, a spokesman for the Kazakh emergency ministry, told IRIN from the capital, Astana, on Monday. The fishermen were evacuated from Lake Mazurova in Kostanai district by the emergency ministry's northern mobile rescue team. "In the central Akmola province some 88 eight people affected by heavy snowfall were also rescued," Tarbaev said. "There were no casualties or damage." According to the emergency ministry, following severe snowstorms in central parts of the country, the authorities limited road movement in Akmola province late on Sunday and temporarily suspended any departure from Astana, which is located in the province. Also, departures from all the towns and district centres of the province were halted. "This was done due to bad weather and heavy snow. Visibility dropped to less than 50 metres," Tarbaev said. Meteorologists forecast snowstorms, clouds and strong winds measuring up to 55 km per hour in coming days. "Movement on the roads will be up and running again when weather conditions get back to normal, but we cannot give the exact date and time now," the emergency official noted. Meanwhile, no assistance was currently required, with the emergency ministry taking all necessary measures on the ground. Kazakhstan's Natural Disaster Preparedness Plan, drafted with the support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in 2000, suggests that the country is prone to various natural disasters including blizzards and snowstorms, earthquakes, debris flows, avalanches, landslides and mudslides, river flooding, drought and others. Kazakhstan is the ninth largest country in the world with a territory slightly less than that of India's and a continental climate. Every year Kazakhstan experiences hundreds of natural disasters, with the number of victims reaching several thousand and the number of dead often exceeding 100, the report said, adding that direct losses from natural disasters exceeded US $20 million annually.