Heat wave caused mudflow in Almaty

A mudflow that damaged houses in Almaty suburbs was caused by waters from glacier Kargalinka rapidly melting following a strong heat wave in the city, an emergency agency reports says.

Days long hefty melting at Kargalinka Glacier overfilled Bezimyannoye dammed lake that resulted in a large mass of water being thrown into the Kargalinka mountain river at around 3 am.

Officials say the dam sustained and held the mud and stone flow of 20,000-30,000 cubic meters.

"Currently, there is no threat of a repeated flow observed. The place is not of dangerous ones for the past 20-25 years. The lake has been emptied by 80-90%, of which 10% was "caught" by the dam, threfore no need to fear," an emergency official Serik Aubakirov said.

Source/picture: IA Novosti-Kazakhstan