Landslide threatens massive floods

A giant landslide is moving ever-closer to the banks of the Vakhsh river in western Tajikistan threatening catastrophic floods in the area including the loss of a major hydro-electric power plant.

The landslide, caused by heavy rainfall and the severe earthquake which struck the Central Asia region on 3 March, also threatens to submerge the southern Tajik city of Qurghon Teppa unless action is taken to prevent the slide forming a dam and blocking the river's flow, local sources told IRIN on Tuesday.

Experts estimate that the landslide is carrying with it between five and 10 million cubic metres of mud which if it is allowed to reach the river bank would be enough to form a giant dam across the river. The attendant flooding that would inevitably follow would likely leave the Baipaza hydro-electric power station under water. If the river were to then burst through the banks of the dam then Qurghon Teppa could also be submerged by the river's redirected flow.

Local sources told IRIN that a team of specialists led by the Deputy Chairman of the Tajikistan Electric System, Aleksei Silantyev, was in the region and closely monitoring the situation. If the slide continues the authorities plan to destroy the mass of slurry with the use of hand-placed explosives and by aerial bombardment. A rescue team is reportedly on standby close to the site of the slide.