Government is ready to reconstruct Almaty after earthquake if it happens

Kazakhstan’s government is ready to rebuild Almaty after a potential earthquake at the expense of special public reserves, Minister of National Economy Nurlan Baybazarov said. He also highlighted that the government will do everything necessary to help the city if something bad happens.

«The government is keeping an eye on the situation in Almaty. We’ve discussed this issue today. The minister for emergency situations reported on the current situation. Of course, the government has some reserves that are replenished every year. These resources will be allocated for dealing with the consequences of any potential disaster. We all hope that it will never happen in Almaty,» Baybazarov said during a media briefing.

The official also said that local authorities in Almaty are currently assessing buildings and infrastructure that have been damaged during the recent earthquake. The government is ready to allocate reserved funds for repair and reconstruction if necessary.

When the minister was asked how much the city of Almaty would cost, he replied that the city is the biggest economic center of Kazakhstan and it is hard to evaluate its cost in terms of money.

«Almaty is the biggest economy in our country, its financial center, and a key donor for the state budget. It would be hard to assess the cost of Almaty but I think it’s safe to say that Almaty is a valuable asset,» the minister underscored.

The context. On March 4, residents of Almaty reported quite a powerful earthquake of 5.0 magnitude with the epicenter 31 kilometers from the city. According to the Almaty Department of Emergency Situations, there is a big threat of subsequent aftershocks. The Almaty region and the Jetisu region also reported quakes with magnitude 5.0 and 2.0, respectively.

However, the Seismic Safety Commission said that there is a relatively low chance of a repeated quake in Almaty soon (30%). People were allowed to return to their homes.

In the early morning of January 23, Almaty reported an earthquake with a similar magnitude. At the time, the public system of early warning failed to notify citizens about the threat. There were no SMS notifications about the quake and not a single siren worked in the city that day. Some public places that were supposed to serve as shelters in case of emergency were closed. In turn, the Ministry for Emergency Situation said that it turns on sirens only if an earthquake has a magnitude 5.5 or higher.

However, the Almaty city authorities now want to introduce a new system of instant warning, replacing the current system of SMS notification that turned out to be ineffective.