A special directorate named “Usoy” monitors the situation in the Lake Sarez area, the head of the Committee for Emergency Situations and Civil Defense (CES) under the Government of Tajikistan, Rustam Nazarzoda, told reporters in Dushanbe on July 20.
“A satellite monitoring system to inform of any natural changes taking place in the Lake Sarez area has been installed in Rushan, Darvoz and Hamadoni districts as well as in Dushanbe,” the head of the Tajik emergency management agency said.
According to him, neighboring countries also use data of the satellite monitoring system.
“Such a system will be installed in Shahritous district of Khatlon province soon as well,” Nazarzoda said.
He further noted that CES conducts special training for the population of Rushan and Bartang every three months.
“Besides, the government has established sixteen warehouses to store essential products in the Bartang jamoat of the Rushan district alone,” Nazarzoda added.
Lake Sarez formed in 1911, after a great earthquake, when the Murgab River was blocked by a big landslide.
The earthquake was reportedly estimated at 6.5-7.0 on Richter scale. Deaths were estimated at 302. The landslide was 2.2 million cubic meters and formed the Usoy Dam, which is 3km long and 550m high, the tallest natural dam in the world. The village of Usoy was buried under the landslide. It was not until April 1914 that the lake rose high enough to begin flowing over the dam. The lake reached its current level in 1920. The area was so isolated and the destruction of mountain tracks so complete that it took six weeks before word reached the Russian posts at Murgab and Khorog.
A landslide reportedly caused two meter high waves in the lake in 1968. A 1997 conference in Dushanbe concluded that the dam was unstable and might collapse if there were another powerful earthquake.
In 2000, the Lake Sarez Risk Mitigation Project (LSRMP) was launched. The project aiming at reducing the risk related to the natural structure by implementing a monitoring and an early warning system, by training the population leaving downstream and developing long term solutions, is a partnership between the Government and the people of Tajikistan, the World Bank and the donor community represented by the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), the Aga Khan Foundation (AKF), and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The main Tajik counterpart for the project is the Committee for Emergency Situations (CES).
A 2004 study by the World Bank held that the dam was stable. The principal danger seems to be a partially detached mass of rock of about 3 cubic kilometers that could break loose and fall into the lake. Since the valley below the dam is so narrow, any flood would be very destructive.
An early warning system installed with support from the Government of Switzerland automatically informs the administrative center of Rushan district, Khorog and Dushanbe of any natural changes taking place in the Lake Sarez area. A special directorate on use of the Usoy system and Lake Sarez problems has been established in Dushanbe.
More than 80 Codan radio transmitters have been installed. Part of them has been installed along Lake Sarez as well as the Bartang and Panj rivers.
The GBAO emergency management agency jointly with international humanitarian organization, FOCUS, conducts special training for the population leaving downstream.
