24 Mar 2008 07:04:38 GMT
Source: Reuters

ALMATY, March 24 (Reuters) - Thousands of people were left without fresh
water in Kazakhstan on Monday after a major flood disrupted water
supplies in the southwest of the Central Asian state, the Emergencies
Ministry said.

Spring flooding is a recurring problem across Central Asia but an abrupt
rise in temperatures following weeks of severe cold has exacerbated the
problem this year.

The Kazakh Emergencies Ministry said in a statement that 10,000 people
in the city of Uralsk near Kazakhstan's border with Russia had their
water supplies cut off after a flood devastated a local sewage disposal
system over the weekend.

Last month more than 12,000 people had to flee their homes in southern
Kazakhstan after rain-swollen rivers swept away their houses, killing at
least one person.

Kazakhstan, a former Soviet country the size of Western Europe, is
Central Asia's biggest economy and home to some of the world's biggest
oil and metals reserves. (Writing by Maria Golovnina; Editing by Stephen
Weeks)

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