TAJIKISTANI.

Natural hazards in Tajikistan

1.1 Natural hazards likely to affect the country
Tajikistan is prone to many types of natural hazards, including floods,
mudflows, landslides (mudslides), epidemics, drought, earthquakes,
avalanches, insect infestation and wind storm. About 93% of thecountry’s area are mountainous, which widely vary in height fromseveral hundred meters to 6000-7000 meters above sea level.

Earthquakes are typical for Tajikistan and represent a substantial
threat in many parts of the country, specifically in urban environments
like Dushanbe, where potential earthquake magnitude can be as high as
8-9 on Richter scale. Earthquakes in Tajikistan are seriously dangerous,
since they cover broad areas and are able to cause a considerable damage
to reservoir dams, buildings and communications. According to the
Global Seismic Hazard Map (GSHAP, 1999) the whole country is locatedin the high to very high-risk zone.
Some 50 000 landslides have been reported by Tajik Glavgeology in the
1990s all over the republic, including both seismic and non-seismic slides.
Seismic landslides triggered by strong earthquakes are much bigger
than non-seismic slides and have much more serious consequences.
In Tajikistan floods occur either in spring following heavy rains, or
during snowmelt in summer time. Flash floods in narrow valleys are
Source: ADRC country report1particularly destructive. River beds rise due to the load of silt and stones
carried down from the mountains.
Mudflows are one of the consequences of heavy rainfall, being observed
frequently in the foothills and mountainous areas of Tajikistan. Anotherreason for the occurrence of mudflows can be the damming ofwatercourses by landslides and glaciers, and the accumulation of loose
debris on slopes and in the channels of watercourses behind a dam. Some
85% of Tajikistan’s area is threatened by mudflows and 32% of the area
is situated in the high mudflow risk zone. The major reason ofavalanches in Tajikistan is fresh snow formation (60-70%). Most
avalanches are observed in February and March.
During the last five years (2001-2005) natural disasters have killed 145
people and have caused a total damage of more than 200 million US
Dollars in Tajikistan. The table below is an overview of disaster damages
in Tajikistan during the past 3 years (2003-2005):
Year# of people killed # of houses damaged

Total financial
damage

2003

20

8 896

$22 666 667

2004

19

3 961

$24 100 000

2005

47

4 654

$33 133 333

Total

86

17 511$79 900 000

1.2 Recent major disasters
Description of recent major disasters and response activities
Avalanches of January 2006
Tajikistan has been hit again this year by heavy snowfall starting 26
January and continued for few days. Afterwards, the temperatures
increased significantly, which triggered avalanches in most of themountainous parts of the country. In Jirgatol District of Rasht Valley, inthe eastern part of the country, 18 people were killed by one avalanche.
Number of casualties reached 22 people. Total of 270 houses and 225
various social infrastructure (schools, medical points, etc) were destroyed
or damaged all around the country.

Source: ADRC country report2Floods of June 2005
Heavy rainfall followed by rapid warming of temperature, caused severe
flooding and mudflows around the country. Beginning of June 2005
floods caused considerable damage to the infrastructure and livelihoodsof Penjikent District of Sughd Oblast, located in the northern part. Totalof 110 houses were totally destroyed and 299 houses were partiallydamaged in 5 villages of Shing and Rudaki Jamoats of Penjikent District.
3,500 people were reported affected. Total of five casualties (including 3
children) were reported in the area.
Heavy snowfall – February 2005
Tajikistan was hit by heavy snowfall starting 1 February 2005, which
continued for several days. In Tavildara district of Rasht Valley 2 metresof snow had fallen in the first two days. In Rasht Valley, an important
areas surrounded by steep slopes, over a hundred major avalanches hadcome down into populated areas. Hundreds of vehicles were trapped in
the snow in Rasht Valley, alone. The heavy snow had caused roofs tocollapse on hospitals, schools and private homes.
Response Activities – REACT Partnership
During any emergency, uncoordinated assistance can be a disaster in
itself. In Tajikistan, since 2000, the Ministry of Emergency Situations
and Civil Defense has been leading a disaster management coordinationgroup known as the Rapid Emergency Assessment and Coordination
Team (REACT). In an even of any disaster, REACT is activated by the
Ministry of Emergency Situations to organize a coordinated response.
With the main coordination group based in the capital Dushanbe,
regional REACT groups have been established in Rasht and Zerafshan
Valleys as well as in Kulyab in order to facilitate better disastermanagement coordination at the field level. REACT has played an
important role in meeting the acute needs of affected population in time.
The chart below describes the current disaster management structurewith the relations to REACT:

Source: ADRC country report3Disaster Management Partnership – REACT structure
REACT has proved invaluable in mitigating, preparing and responding
to recent disasters nationwide. REACT has also become the national
Disaster Management Partnership, whose activities have expanded overthe past 2 years to include coordination efforts in broader disastermanagement areas, including community-based mitigation, hazard
mapping and GIS. Presently REACT is constituted by 65 different
organisations: 16 Government agencies, 7 donor organisations, 9 UN
agencies, 28 International NGOs, and 5 local NGOs.
Activities for recovery and reconstruction after major disasters
Government plays an important role in recovery and reconstruction after
disasters. People who lose their houses receive financial and material
compensation and other means of assistance from the government, inorder for them to build new houses and restore livelihood.
The REACT partnership is also involved in recovery and reconstruction
after disaster, in order to ensure coordination. Within the REACT
Parnership, 5 sectoral groups have been established to deal with: 1- Food
Aid, 2- Non-food items, including shelter, 3- Health, 4- Water andSanitation, and 5- Education. These sectoral groups are working towards
developing strategies for effective preparedness, response and recovery
in their specific areas. Their work feeds into updating of the InterAgency Contingency Plan for Tajikistan. A Rapid Response Coordination

Source: ADRC country report4Group has been established within the partnership to reassure efficientdisaster response. All information on all aspects of disaster management
is shared on www.untj.org, where interested people or organizations canfind up-to-date information on the overall situation in the country as
well as recent disasters.
II.

Disaster Management system

2.1 Administrative system

Conventional long form: Republic of Tajikistan
Conventional short form: Tajikistan
Government type: republic
Capital: Dushanbe
Administrative Divisions: 3 provinces (viloyatho, singular - viloyat) and
1 autonomous province* (viloyati mukhtor);

2.2 Legal system, legal framework
There are several national laws and decrees, which govern the disastermanagement field in Tajikistan:
Government of the Republic of Tajikistan Decree #400 “On theestablishment of the Committee for Emergency Situations and Civil
Defense” (17 August 1994), is the first legal provision in the field ofprotecting the population and territories from natural and manmade
emergency situations.
The Law of the Republic of Tajikistan “On Civil Defense” (November
1995) is aimed at the implementation of security tasks in wartime. This
Law was reconsidered in 2004; its peculiarity was reduced to theregulation and provision of safety in peacetime.
The Law of the Republic of Tajikistan “On protection of population andterritories from natural and manmade emergency situations” (2004)
stipulates organizational and legal provisions in protecting the people,
national territories, natural wealth of Tajikistan.
The Law “On emergency rescue services and the status of rescuers”
defines the organizational, legal and ecological conditions for applicationof capacities and tools to prevent and mitigate emergency situations. It
also regulates relations among the authorities, institutions and citizens,and determines rights and duties of rescuers in the country.
The Law “On the Fund for mitigation of emergency situations” (27December 1993), allocated the fund for mitigation and rehabilitation
activities. The fund comes from 10 percent of depreciation amounts paidby business enterprises on the territory of Tajikistan.

Source: ADRC country report52.3 Structure of disaster management
The establishment of the State Commission on Emergency Situations
under the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan has become an
important step in the enhancement of the system of management inemergency situations. This Commission has obtained a status of anational coordinating body in emergency situations.
The Ministry of Emergency Situations and Civil Defense (MoES) wasestablished to settle issues of protection of the population and territoriesof the country. MoES has the following functions:
Implement a common State policy in disaster prevention andmitigation;
Implement programs on disaster management;

Source: ADRC country report6

Maintain
preparednessofdisastermanagement
units,
communication and warning systems, forces and tools acting inemergency situations, implementation of mitigation andrehabilitation activities, forecasting and assessment of socioeconomic impact from emergency situations;
Implement international cooperation for disaster reduction efforts;
Stock piling and delivery of relief aid to the affected population.

--

MoES is also tasked to protect the population and national territories
from hazards of military actions such as terrorist threats.
2.4 Priority on disaster risk management•

Enhancement of disaster management and information
maintenance- establishment of a more efficient structure of management;- gradual integration of a common system of response to
emergency situations and systems of civil defense in the
integrated State system- establishment of early warning and forecasting systems•

Building and strengthening international cooperation in the sphereof prevention and mitigation of emergency situations- establishment of an international system of response to
emergency situations;- enhancement of management of international forces in areas
affected by disasters;- development of coordinated scientific studies on disasterprevention and mitigation

III.

Disaster management plan

There is no specific Disaster Management Plan in Tajikistan yet. The
Ministry of Emergency Situations and Civil Defense is working closelywith the international community, in order to consolidate all the various
sectors of disaster management into a Disaster Preparedness plan.
Currently, disaster management is part of the Civil Defense Plan of thecountry.
IV.

Budget size on national level

In order to implement various activities for disaster management, thecentral government, as well as the regional and district authorities, andthe local communities allocate special funds from their budgets.

Source: ADRC country report7Government allocates approximately USD 5-6 mln. annually for disaster
response and recovery activities.
Law of the Republic of Tajikistan “On the Fund for mitigation of
emergency situations” (27 December 1993) mandates government toallocate a fund for mitigation and rehabilitation activities.
V.

Progress and situations of the Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA)The Republic of Tajikistan has undertaken the following actions in
response to HFA.
With the help of the representation of ISDR in Central Asia, twoconsultative meetings have been held as a follow up to HFA between
Central Asian Countries.
The first regional consultative meeting on disaster risk reduction inCentral Asia was held in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, 1-2 of December 2004.
The meeting was jointly organized by the Government of Tajikistan, UN
Disaster Risk Management Project in Tajikistan and UN/ISDR Outreach
Office in Central Asia. Governmental officials from Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, and representatives from
Directorate- General for Humanitarian Aid (ECHO), Swiss Development
Cooperation (SDC), Asian Development Bank (ADB) and United Nations
Development Programme (UNDP) participated.
The objectives of this regional consultative meeting were to:¾ Promote regional cooperation and collaboration in the field of
disaster risk reduction;¾ Integrate disaster risk reduction into development planning,
policies and implementation, as part of the Central Asian
preparatory process for the World Conference on Disaster
Reduction and the outcomes from this conference;¾ Discuss measures urgently needed in order to create sustainable
development planning and programmes;¾ Create a regional platform for disaster risk reduction, especiallyintegrating disaster risk reduction into public policies, promotionof disaster emergency response and disaster risk reduction at thecommunity level and professional capacity building;¾ Consult with participants from Central Asian governments; aim to
set regional priorities, and to create a fundament for a regional
strategy for disaster risk reduction.
The participants came up with following key points;
 Work must be harmonize, taken into consideration that major
threats like earthquakes can also lead to secondary effect andcreate human made hazards, example leakage chemical industry
can become a consequence of poor building structure.

Source: ADRC country report8Hydro technological facilities (HEPS) – are a major threat. Needto improve monitoring of these facilities.
 Need for disasters database for Central Asia in order to increase
prevention.
 Improved early warning and monitoring.
 Major cities in Central Asia all prone to earthquake- legislation
for private construction practices, a need for sustainable urban
development, common problems
 Harmonization of legislations
 Earthquake is a common threat to all the countries of Central
Asia. The group will focus on two concrete actions with donors’
support:A) Legislation for disaster risk reduction should be harmonized,
starting with earthquake legislations- building codes for private
constructions. Tajikistan will take a leading role to draft thelegislation and then share and discuss with other countries.
Countries were recommended to organize two meetings to consult
with national institutions for finalisation of the legislations.
B) Seismic hazard mapping should be unified for Central Asia
through the joint work of technical scientific research institutions.
 Information and knowledge sharing should be harmonized andenhanced among the countries through the regional website basedin Iran, and extend the competence centre on disaster risk
management based in Dushanbe (education and educational
materials). A data bank on disaster risk reduction should be
developed.
 Donor cooperation at regional level should be harmonized in thedomain of disaster risk reduction.
 Assistance should be provided in improving monitoring and early
warning systems in the most vulnerable constructions (large dams
and reservoirs) of Central Asia. Assistance should also include
assessment, prioritisation and community awareness and training,supply and installation.


The second consultative meeting was held in Almaty, Kazakhstan 24-25
May 2005, which was a follow up to the first consultative meeting. Oneof the concrete outcomes of the second meeting was a joint agreement on
reviewing the draft Low on Earthquakes, which will be adopted andapproved by each government.
Disaster risk mitigation is a national priority. Measures on risk
mitigation taken by the government of the Republic of Tajikistan.
The Government of Tajikistan under the support of regional andinternational organizations develops multilevel and multisectoral
cooperation for risk mitigation, widely applying legal and other relevant

Source: ADRC country report9risk reduction and preventive measures, some of which are included in
the country development plans.
The central government, as well as the regional and district authorities,
and the local communities allocated special funds from their budgets
national for disaster prevention activities.
In August 2004, the government organized a national workshop on risk
management in emergency situations, which resulted in thedevelopment of a country strategy and a set of priorities on disaster
reduction. The workshop helped further enhance national policy in thefield of risk management. It also accelerated the implementation ofactivities by legal and executive authorities, local governments,
enterprises, communities and citizens of Tajikistan.
Risk management and preventive measures remain the key priorities for
the Government. Currently, the Government has strategic stockpiles offood and non-food commodities, and undertakes measures on theenhancement of national and regional capacities and reserves needed forrisk management.
Priority activities in the country include among others, the developmentof a logical legal basis, mobilization of the State prevention andmitigation forces and tools, management and coordination of the State
structural units, the introduction of
global risk prevention andmitigation experiences, all based on the framework of the International
Decade for Disaster Risk Reduction.
Several laws were enacted as mentioned above. In addition, the State
Commission on Emergency Situations was created. This Commission
serves as a national coordinating body for emergency situations.
The Ministry of Emergency Situations and Civil Defense of the Republicof Tajikistan was established for the settling of issues of protection of the
population and territories in natural and industrial emergency
situations.
Identification, assessment and monitoring of risks in emergency
situations
Currently, within the Information-Analytical Center, the Ministrydevelops a sustainable scientific technological infrastructure at thenational and local levels. This infrastructure is needed for research,monitoring, analysis, mapping, forecasting of natural disasters,development of a relevant data base, testing of innovation, scientific andtechnical methodologies, distant surveys, systems of geographical data,

Source: ADRC country report10systems of disaster modeling, forecasting of weather and climate
conditional, systems of risk assessment and early warning.
To prevent flood hazards, the government is constructing a diversion
tunnel along the left opposite bank of the river, which will be passing thewaters of Vakhsh in case of activation of the Baipaza landslide, andperform the function of an emergency spillway.
For landslides, the implementation of the international project (LSRMP)
modern early warning and monitoring systems were installed at the Usoi
dam; the awareness of the residents along the riverbed was enhanced,
and enable them to timely evacuate in case of the breakthrough of thelake.
Application of knowledge, innovations and education in formation of safe
behavior and disaster management capacities on all levels
Local data bases, information bulletins on advanced practices, feasible
and accessible risk reduction technologies and lessons learned frompolicies, plans and loss reduction measures are being developed within
the local networks of State authorities.
The Scientific Research Center under the Ministry on Emergency
Situations and Civil Defense has developed a system of training andtutorials on disaster mitigation management for local governments,
decision-makers, regional branches of the Ministry involved in disastermanagement, vulnerable communities, business enterprises and thecommon population of the country.
The Government of the Republic of Tajikistan considered the issue of
inclusion of special risk reduction subjects in the educational curriculumfor 2006-2007, and in the relevant educational programs within thesystems of school, pre-school, secondary, special and higher education.
In addition, local authorities establish information services with the
purpose to inform the population about perspective development
planning in cities and districts, construction planning of new industrial
and civil objects, activities on land reclamation and land use.
Reduction of the basic risk factors
The level of poverty is still high in Tajikistan, and the difficult conditionsof living weaken the prevention and risk reduction capacities. Despite
this, some activities were undertaken to address concerns on nuclear
threats such as: studies on nuclear radiation due to the extraction of
uranium deposits in the country.

Source: ADRC country report11Currently, the activities on physical reinforcement of the national
radioactive waste disposal unit are under intent control of theInternational Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Tajikistan became amember of this organization since 2001.
In addition, the Ministry of Emergency Situations has been
implementing activities to assess users of radioactive sources aimed atpreventing of radioactive accidents, and inventory of radioactive sources
at industrial enterprise of the country.
Enhancement of disaster preparedness for effective actions
In Tajikistan, it is recognized that the development and periodical
updating of plans of preparedness to natural and industrial hazards
establishes a legal bases for actions in emergency situations. However, atpresent the Government is sourcing support from the international
community to formulate a comprehensive disaster risk management
plan.
International cooperation
An efficient system of coordination, interaction and cooperation between
the Government, UN agencies and international humanitarianorganizations has been established in the sphere of risk reduction in
emergency situations.
Currently, 13 UN agencies working in Tajikistan implementing theconcept “Moving the Mountains”, which represents a common strategy ofactions aimed at the achievement of positive outcomes in the sphere ofaccess of the population to basic social services, assistance in mitigation
activities, and hazards related with mountainous landscape, support ofcommunities and households in strengthening of democratic values. The
significant inputs of donors, which amounted to $380 million in 2003 and2004, indicate the commitment of the international community.
Another significant achievement is the establishment of the REACT
group in 2001. It comprises of a number of key international andnational organizations that work in the sector of disaster preparedness
and mitigation, and have capacities for prompt provision of skills andresources for immediate assessment of needs. This organization consistsof the Ministry of Emergency Situations and Civil Defense of Tajikistan,
Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, National Red CrescentSociety of Tajikistan, Focus Humanitarian Assistance, Global Partners,
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies,
Merilin, MSF Holland, UNICEF, UNHCR, WFP and WHO.
Project implementation with UN agencies at present aimed atdeveloping an efficient risk reduction policy, strengthening of
coordination mechanisms, application of new technologies in assessmentand monitoring, which significantly enhances forecasting and decreases

Source: ADRC country report

12

time limits for response, improves public awareness on the issues of risk,
vulnerability and mitigation of emergencies, and enhances partnershipon local, national and international levels.
VI.

Projects on disaster reduction headed by the Ministry

There are several programmes and initiatives covering the field of
disaster reduction in Tajikistan.
European Commission Humanitarian Office has been running a Disaster
Preparedness Programme in Central Asia since 2003. Most of the
projects are implemented in Tajikistan, The projects are implemented
jointly by international organizations and MoES.
The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation had started a
Disaster Reduction Program for Central Asian countries, mainly in
Tajikistan.
The UN is running a joint project with MoES called UN Disaster Risk
Reduction Project. This project is co-funded by UNDP and SDC. The
main goal of the project is to build the capacity of the MoES.
VII.

ADRC Counterpart
Ministry of Emergency Situations and Civil Defense
26 Lohuti Street, Dushanbe, Tajikistan, 734025

Source: ADRC country report13