A landslide flattened 11 homes in the village of Ayusai in Uzgen District of Osh region in southwest Kyrgyzstan, on April 29, leaving two dozen missing.
“In the morning the landslide crashed into the river and the water flooded our houses. We only had time to run outside,” said flood victim Karash Abdullayeva. “Whatever we could grab, we took with us. The rest is gone with the flood,” he said.
Local officials claimed they had warned residents that heavy rains had made the soil unstable.
Kyrgyzstan Emergencies Minister Kubatbek Baronov said the head of the Ayusai village council and specialists from the emergency ministries had warned residents ahead of the flooding.
“Measures were taken to move people out of this dangerous zone, but the residents refused,” Baronov said. “Some of them even signed papers saying that they had been warned and do not want to move, and that they acknowledge the responsibility. And today such tragedy happened.” Some residents dispute that claim.
“Had anybody told us before, we would have moved, said Ayusai village resident, Sadyr Dorokulov. “But they tell us (that the zone is dangerous) after the tragedy happened. Where will we go now, where will we live? Our relatives have their own households. I have never seen such a landslide.”
This is the twenty-fifth landslide to hit the region since the start of the year.
