Almaty has placed its utility and emergency services on high alert due to an approaching storm, with the city bracing for possible flooding. Hundreds of road workers and specialized equipment have been deployed, and thousands of sandbags have been prepared, according to infohub.kz.
According to forecasts from Kazhydromet, rain of 1–2 mm intensity and thunderstorms are expected in Almaty after 18:00 on October 1. Overnight into October 2 and until 09:00, intermittent rain of 2–4 mm is forecast. Southwesterly wind gusts may reach 15 m/s.
During the precipitation period, city services will be on enhanced duty. The Almaty rescue service has prepared a sewage truck and 15 motor pumps. The emergency situations department has deployed 240 personnel.
"In addition to the forces formed specifically for the rainy period, utility services continue to operate as usual. The daily deployment consists of 3,080 road workers and 1,225 units of specialized equipment," the akimat of the southern capital said.
Duty crews will monitor areas most prone to water accumulation and carry out pumping and other works to prevent local flooding.
Recall that in late July, Astana was also hit by a powerful downpour that turned the capital's streets into rivers within minutes and flooded key highways. At the time, the capital's akimat stated that the storm drainage system was coping with the volume of water, but acknowledged that it takes from 40 minutes to an hour for the main flow to recede. The capital's utility services were also placed on enhanced duty.
Earlier, Kursiv reported that a resident of Astana whose Mercedes-Benz E-Class business sedan was flooded during the downpour on July 23 called on social media for other drivers who suffered damage from flooded roads to unite.