NOV. 30 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – A gas explosion in a block of flats in the city of Taldykorgan in south Kazakhstan killed at least seven people, media reported. Media quoted the emergency services as saying improper use of gas cylinders had caused the explosion. The accident highlights poor infrastructure used in Kazakhstan.
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(News report from Issue No. 211, published on Dec. 3 2014)
NOV. 10 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – An oil rig partially collapsed in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea, killing at least one worker. This was the second fatal accident on Azerbaijan’s off-shore energy sector in less than a month, throwing up general safety concerns.
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(News report from Issue No. 208, published on Nov.12 2014)
OCT. 4 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – An earthquake measuring 6 magnitude on the Richter Scale hit north- central Azerbaijan, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS). It was recorded at a relatively deep 5km. There were no fatalities.
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(News report from Issue No. 203, published on Oct. 8 2014)
JUNE 24 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Media in Uzbekistan reported that a drought in the south of the country means that crop expectations are low.
The uznews.net opposition website said that harvest would be 50% lower than normal on rain-fed crops.
“It did not rain this April and we expect smaller harvests,” uznews.net quoted a farmer as saying.
Officials have not commented although signs of drought are important for policymakers. Droughts and a lack of income can trigger social discontent. Throughout the year, reports have surfaced from Uzbekistan of rising prices.
Uzbekistan is particularly prone to drought. Much of its agriculture is under-resourced and lacking in investment and the land is generally arid. A government report in 2012 said that 76% of the population was living in areas at risk of drought.
And the timing of the uznews.net report is pertinent. The state’s Committee for Natural Protection organised a roundtable on June 29 specifically to discuss desertification and drought in Uzbekistan. The World Bank and the Asian Development all provide various forms of financial assistance aimed at reducing drought in Uzbekistan.
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(News report from Issue No. 190, published on July 2 2014)
JUNE 7 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – An earthquake measuring 5.5 magnitude hit Turkmenistan, roughly 120km north of the port of Turkmenbasy, the US Geological Survey said.The earthquake was deep, 12.2km below the surface, and no injuries or deaths were reported. Central Asia is prone to earthquakes.
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(News report from Issue No. 188, published on JUNE 11 2014)
MAY 7 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Floods have heavily damaged parts of southern Tajikistan, along the border with Afghanistan, media reported. The Afghan side has been far worse effected with reports saying that a mudslide hit a village killing several hundred people. In Tajikistan, reports said that hundreds of families in remote villages had been cut off.
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(News report from Issue No. 184, published on May 14 2014)
APRIL 19 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — A passenger train running between Almaty and Atyrau, western Kazakhstan, derailed injuring 44 people. Kazakhstan is pouring cash into updating and modernising its rail infrastructure. Rail remains one of the main ways to travel around the country.
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(News report from Issue No. 181, published on April 23 2014)
APRIL 13 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — A mud slide hit a village 220km south of Dushanbe on April 12 killing at least six children, media reported. The deaths highlight the perilous state of many villages in Tajikistan. Poverty and poor infrastructure still mark much of the Tajik countryside.
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(News report from Issue No. 180, published on April 16 2014)
APRIL 1 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — A dam in central Kazakhstan burst, flooding downstream villages and killing five people. The accident underlines the need to improve Kazakhstan’s Soviet built infrastructure.
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(News report from Issue No. 178, published on April 2 2014)
FEB. 18 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — The Syr Darya river, flowing through southern Kazakhstan, has flooded, drowning and freezing dozens of cattle and horses, media reported. Photographs showed dead horses frozen in ice. Farmers say that they were not given enough warning by the local authorities to defend their cattle and land.
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(News report from Issue No. 172, published on Feb. 19 2014)