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COUNTRY REPORT
Kazakhstan

Emergency Prevention Department
Emergency Agency Republic of Kazakhstan

The Republic of Kazakhstan is the young state – we are independent only 12 years. Thecountry occupies 2,7 million. square kilometer of the Eurasian continent that deduces it on 9th place in the world by the size of territory. Kazakhstan is subject to diversified natural andman-made disasters. That is why we are very interested in development of wide cooperation
with the Asian countries on the widest spectrum of questions - including the field of theprevention and liquidation of emergencies natural and man-made character.
Kazakhstan shares its borders with the Russian Federation, People’s Republic of China, the Kyrgyz Republic,
the Republic of Uzbekistan, and the Republic of Turkmenistan.

Astana - the new capital of Kazakhstan - is located at the center of republic. The
population of Astana is made over 300 thousand the man. Now in Astana there are Parliament,Government and other basic state bodies.
Almaty - the former capital of Kazakhstan - is located in a southeast of republic at bottomof mountains Ili Alatau. Almaty city has the special status and is largest cultural, scientific andindustrial center.
The system of civil protection of Kazakhstan is young, as well as its independence.
August 21, 1991 accordingly the President’s Decree formed the State commission on extreme
situations as well as Rule about it is authorized.
The Emergency Agency Republic of Kazakhstan is an independent central executive bodyand directly accountable to Prime Minister Republic of Kazakhstan.
Realizing all importance of protection of the population from existing on territory ofKazakhstan threats of catastrophic extreme situations and natural disasters, the President ofour country Nursultan Nazarbaev has determined Agency as a state body alongside with otherforce state bodies providing national security Republic of Kazakhstan.
The agency carries out rapid response on large emergencies and disasters as well as
control of technical safety in an industry, coordinates measures on their prevention, supervises
over State fire service, organizes measures and provides functioning system of a Civil defense
in Kazakhstan.

The laws of Republic of Kazakhstan and special decisions of Government determinefunctions of all main state central and local executive bodies at liquidation and prevention ofemergencies. Thus, in our republic functions the State system of the prevention and liquidationof extreme situations, which core is the Emergency Agency.
The professional operative forces of Agency are constantly ready to performance ofemergency works. Structure of these formations includes one republican and 5 regional
airborne rapid – rescue groups, 25 specialized fire parts on suppression of large fires andconducting rescue works which also completed by the medical personnel and equipment, 332
fire parts of cities and areas, paramilitary, mining rescue, rescue at gas accidents, counter
fountain groups, water rescue services, two military units of a Civil defense. For operative
sending of the rescuers in the difficult of access and remote zones of disasters the Agency
has helicopters.
By experience of foreign services 911 in 10 large cities of Kazakhstan the uniform dispatching services ofrescue 051 are created.

Service of emergency medical aid in extreme situations of the Ministry of public healthclosely cooperates with rescue services of Agency. The Center of accident medicine and its
regional divisions functions. In case of disasters these Centers are under an operative
management of Emergency Agency.
First of all for rendering the international aid is planned to use Republican rapid - rescue
group equipped with the modern rescue equipment and engineering. This group well has
recommended itself at realization of rescue mission in Turkey after 1999 earthquake. The
reserve of the provision and materials allows working to it independently during 14 day.
The republican automated information-managing system on extreme situations including
geoinformation systems and Internet - technology on mobile complexes and modern sites of acorporate network is created in all territory of Kazakhstan.
Last decade practically in all regions of the world the steady growth of quantity of natural
disasters and their damage is marked. That first of all is explained by amplifying anthropogenous
loading on biosphere.
The territory of republic is subject to risk of many accidents of natural character:earthquakes, mud flows, avalanches, landslides, floods.
The greatest annual damage is put to Kazakhstan by spring high waters, the floods of theCaspian sea and mudflows. It is supposed the creation of the specialized mechanizedengineering groups for increase of efficiency precautionary measures, in each region ofKazakhstan. These groups will strengthen old and to build new dams, quickly to liquidate breaks
through them of water during floods. Therefore experience of liquidation strong floods in
Bangladesh, India and China is very important for us.
One of the five year in Kazakhstan is droughty. That year productivity agricultural(basically grain cultures) on not pouring grounds quickly falls. But it does not result in famine ofthe people and destruction of cattle, because constantly reserve of the foodstuffs on a case ofsuch global emergencies replenishes is created by state government. Besides Kazakhstan
carries out humanitarian deliveries of a grain to the population of the neighbour countries
injured from emergencies and political conflicts.
For Kazakhstan the danger of droughts is that in the years their display quickly progresses
transformation into desert of grounds. Area of deserts and half-deserts already occupies 66 %territory of Kazakhstan.
In droughty years amount of wood and steppe fires amplifies because of what the small
area of woods in Republic 4,7 % constantly decreases. On the verge of disappearance Aral sea
there is located on a southwest of Kazakhstan. For example if in 60-s' years of the last century
the area of Aral sea was 68 thousand sq. km., now it diminish only 32 thousand. sq. km. The
smallest elements of aggressive salts already lifted by a wind with dried up Aral seabed destroy
fertility of soils in bordering to the sea regions. From earlier blossoming deltas of the rivers
Amu Darya and Syr Darya began migration of population. Elements of this salt already are findon glaciers Northern Tian-Shan. This global ecological accident has taken place in many
respects because of mass expansion crops of cotton and fence of water for them from therivers flowing into Aral. Now Kazakhstan reduces crops of rice and the technologies economical
pouring of agricultural cultures take root. The crops of cotton in Uzbekistan are reduced. For
accumulation of fresh waters of the river Syr Darya the crosspiece in northern part of lake isconstructed. The states of our region create the International fund on saving Aral, whichmeans are directed on scientific search of ways of the decision this problem and on practicalactivities.
Kazakhstan is ready to provide the Asian Disaster Preparedness Center all information
about this accident in order to other Asian countries have taken lessons of this sad experienceand the recurrences of such disasters have not admitted at themselves.
In Kazakhstan, as well as in many countries, the earthquakes concern to the category of
the most dangerous natural phenomena. 650 thousand square kilometers, on which lives morethan 6 million people and 40% of the country's industrial facilities are under constant threat ofdevastating earthquakes.
In connection with intensive production hydrocarbon raw material is quite probable theopportunity of development man-made or induced seismisity in western areas.
About ten destructive earthquakes two of which concern to a rank of global accidents forlast hundred years has taken place in Kazakhstan.
On the data Kazakhstan seismologists, the almost centenary period of seismic calm in
Kazakhstan comes to an end and the coming years it is necessary to wait in our territory
earthquakes with the large destructive consequences.
Asian catastrophic earthquakes, having place per last years, (Turkey, Taiwan, India,Afghanistan) again prove necessity of decision the questions seismic stable construction andantiseismic strengthening not seismic stable buildings and structures in Kazakhstan.

There is a danger of occurrence man-made earthquakes in the western regions of thecountry because of an intensive oil production and gas. We need expansion of a network ofseismic monitoring, its reequipment on modern, computerized means of supervision. In thisdirection the big help was rendered to Kazakhstan from the side of the Government of Japan. In
this connection I have honour once again to thank the Japanese side for this support.
Scientists from Kazakhstan closely cooperate also with seismologists of China in the fieldof development of methods of the short-term seismic prognosis.
Taking a case, also I want to thank the Chinese colleagues and the Government of China
for the technical help, rendered to Agency in 2002 as computers, videoengineering and acommunication facility.
The Emergency Agency of the Republic of Kazakhstan effectively cooperates with similarstate bodies and forecasting services of the Kyrgyz Republic, Tadjikistan, Uzbekistan.
Using world experience in preparation for disasters Kazakhstan together with the United
Nations Development Program (UNDP) worked out and accepts by the Kazakh Government"Kazakhstan Natural Disaster Preparedness Plan". This Plan stipulates realization of the wholecomplex of legal, organizational and technical measures under the prevention of disasters in ourcountry.
The big problem for our country is preparation and retraining of experts, and also
realization of scientific researches in the sphere of emergencies and disasters. Afterdossolution of Soviet Union all educational and scientific institutes on a civil defence andemergencies have remained in territory of Russia and Ukraine. The Government of Kazakhstan
will accept the appropriate measures for liquidation of the usual situation. While we solve thisproblem by a direction of our experts in the foreign educational centres, including in the AsianCentre. In this case we widely use world scientific and technical experience.

Last years cooperation of Kazakhstan extends in the field of the prevention and liquidationof consequences of emergencies with the international organizations and the world developed
countries .
So we try to participate in the actions, spent under aegis of the United Nations, theInternational Civil Defence Organization, the International Atomic Energy Agency, the Asian
Disaster Reduction Centre and other.
Participating in actions within the framework of the NATOs program " Partnership forPeace" experts of Emergency Agency intensively master experience of the developed
countries in the field of the emergencies prevention and their liquidations, struggle against fires,
civil protection and civil defence, work with refugees, the organizations of operative interaction
with other countries in case of disasters.
Annually, since 1997 in Kazakhstan the International Training Seminar of rescue
subdivisions be held, in which rescue teams from Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Azerbaijan havesuccessfully taken part.
In 2002 in Almaty city the First International Exhibition "Prevention, Rescue, Relief –EURASIA -2002” was conducted, organized together with the Emergency Ministry of Russia.
The rescue engineering, the technics, equipment and outfit, means of life-support, individualand collective protection, the equipment for extreme medicine, devices of the radiativechemical and biological control were shown during in this Exhibition. Heads of related services of
the countries of Community of Independent States, representatives of the International andnon-governmental organizations, diplomatic missions, placed in Kazakhstan, have taken part inthis exhibition. Also, colleagues from Asian Disaster Reduction Centre have taken part in thisexhibition.
At the end of April, 2002 in Saint-Petersburg the delegation of Emergency Agency head by
the Chairman Mr. Zamanbek Nurkadilov has taken part in the first Meeting of Heads of the statebodies, responsible for the prevention and liquidation of natural and man-made emergencies ofcountries - participants of the Shanghai Organization of Cooperation. During this meetingarrangements for the further adjustment of cooperation between countries – members of thisInternational Organization are achieved.
From time of finding of independence Kazakhstan repeatedly carried out the international
humanitarian operations, assisting as food stuffs, building and other materials to the foreigncountries, injured with large-scale emergencies and disasters.
Among them is an Azerbaijan, Armenia, Kyrgyz Republic, Russia, Tadjikistan, Uzbekistan,
Ukraine and also Afghanistan, Iran, China, Mongolia, Poland, Turkey, Czech Republic, India.
In August, 1999 the Kazakhstan rescuers in quantity 20 person for the first time havetaken part in liquidation of consequences of destructive earthquake in Turkey and rendering of
the humanitarian aid.
To all of us, by virtue of a geographical position, initiation of large disasters more and morethreaten to some extent. Only our close cooperation, harmonious work of our rescuer teams
will allow quickly and in due time to come to the aid each other and to rescue lifes of tens,hundreds, thousand people.
Let me to express a high estimation and gratitude to representatives of the internationaland non-governmental organizations of foreign countries, who now are present at this hall. It isdifficult to overestimate your strong support and the humane help, which you render in difficult
time to national services of the various world states, responsible for the prevention andliquidation of disasters.
I would like to pay your attention, that the Emergency Agency of the Republic ofKazakhstan is open for all and is ready to any cooperation. Fruitful cooperation and warm
friendly relations effectively will allow to realize all actions, directed on the prevention,response and liquidation of consequences of disasters all over the world.

I once again want to allocate the big importance for us cooperation with the Asian Disaster
Reduction Centre. Your efforts on promotion of knowledge of disasters, on management ofthem and reduction of consequences from them necessarily will bear the fruits and on theKazakhstan ground.