Azerbaijan, Baku, May 10/ Trend, A.Akhundov /
Serious efforts are being undertaken in Azerbaijan to prevent floods in territories where floods and mudslides are frequent, Azerbaijani Deputy Prime Minister Abid Sharifov told journalists on Tuesday.
"Appropriate action, carried out under the strict control of the commission established by the president, is underway in places where floods and mudslides are frequent," Sharifov said.
He said that 600 meters of dikes were built during the year, through May 1, in areas prone to dangerous flooding on the banks of the Kur, Araz and mountain rivers.
Sharifov said that construction and repair of houses for people who have been affected by the flood has not yet been completed.
"By late 2011, 2,000 houses should be repaired and several hundreds built. More than 7 million manat has been additionally allocated to cover damage to citizens, in addition to preparatory funds envisaged in a presidential order," Sharifov added.
It should be recalled that floods occurred in 40 districts of Azerbaijan due to the rise of the Kur River. As a result of the disaster, about 20,000 houses were flooded, more than 300 destroyed, 2,000 became unsafe and 50,000 hectares of cultivated land were left under water.
The Ecology and Natural Resources Ministry's National Hydrometeorology Department has conducted a study in connection with the measurement of the thickness of snow on the highlands, where river streams are formed. The work was carried out in the mountains of the Greater Caucasus, in the Lesser Caucasus on seven routes and in the Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic along five routes. Expeditions have revealed that water reserves in the form of snow in mountain river basins, exceed the rates of many years and the rate recorded in 2010.