The heavy rains that hit Tajikistan in early May caused a series of mudflows, floods, and landslides in several regions of the country. The disaster affected dozens of settlements – homes and roads were destroyed, agricultural lands were damaged, and there were fatalities and injuries. The consequences of the bad weather affected hundreds of families.
The most severe consequences were recorded in Kulob, where three people died, and five others were injured and hospitalized due to floods and landslides. In the Temurmalik district of the Khatlon region, the disaster also claimed livestock. Dead cows belonging to residents of the Gurdovaron jamoat were left lying on the road after the mudslide.
In total, according to authorities, about 850 families were affected by the flooding.
Died trying to save a child…
As a result of the flooding on the night of May 1, 45-year-old Mirzo Muloniyozov, a resident of the Daminzoda mahalla, died from an electric shock. Two others – 44-year-old Abumuslim Davlatov, a resident of the Zarinkuh mahalla, and 58-year-old Nabiamon Fazilov, a resident of the Sughdiyon mahalla – died after being trapped under a collapsed wall.
Yaqubjon Mulloniyozov, a resident of Daminzoda Street in Kulob, spoke about the tragedy in his family. His father died on the day of the mudflow.
“It happened on May 1 around 20:10. My father was in the mosque. I came home and saw that the neighbors’ house was already flooded with water — the girls were there, and the owner was working in Russia. My mother ran to help them.
Orif Qosimov, a resident of this mahalla and a friend of Mirzo Mulloniyozov, painfully recalls that fateful day and says that the mudslide with muddy streams descended from the foothills and flooded people’s homes and land plots. According to him, the deceased worked as a car mechanic and was a father of four children. Mirzo Mulloniyozov’s eldest son returned from Russia after his father’s death.
“Stood on the fence in the rain for two hours”
The resident of K. Zardakov Street, Ms. Umeda Halimova, also shared her experience:
“On the night of the flood, we were all in the room. We heard the loud crash of the gates. We barely had time to grab blankets and run out. Helping each other, we climbed onto a high fence made of concrete blocks.
The rain poured endlessly, the water rose more than two meters. We stood on the fence for about two hours. My daughter-in-law was eight months pregnant.
Then we asked the young people nearby to help us get down and reach a safe place. They helped us, and we spent the night at the neighbors’. We are still living with them now.
According to her, five people lived in the house: she, her son with his wife, daughter, and younger son. The woman’s husband died last year.
