Turkmenistan is at high risk of natural disasters. UN says how to plan for recovery

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has organized a two-day National Training on Disaster Recovery Planning and Needs Assessment in Ashgabat.

Over 20 government agencies of Turkmenistan took part in the event.

"Turkmenistan is also in a zone of high risk of natural disasters, including earthquakes, and the best way to respond to this natural disaster is to increase resilience and preparedness," said Narine Sahakyan, UNDP Resident Representative.

The training covered topics such as crisis response and recovery planning, introduction to post-disaster needs assessment methodology, the impact of natural disasters on infrastructure and social sector, and gender dynamics in the post-disaster needs assessment.

The keynote speaker was Stanislav Kim, Regional Technical Adviser on Climate and Disaster Resilience of the UNDP Istanbul Regional Hub. Experts from Moldova, Armenia and Serbia were also invited.

"This training is intended to provide the Government of Turkmenistan with practical tools to identify post-disaster recovery needs in case of a major disaster, and support national authorities in designing a people-centered disaster recovery framework," said Kim.

Turkmenistan is located in an earthquake-prone zone. On the night of October 6, 1948, Ashgabat suffered a catastrophic earthquake with a magnitude of 9-10, killing tens of thousands of people.

The high salinity of groundwater, the intensity of solar radiation and mudflows from the mountains are also becoming a threat to populated areas in Turkmenistan. In 2020, the country was covered with salt dust, which contained nitrogen fertilisers that had accumulated on the bottom of the Aral Sea for decades.  In recent years, severe dust storms have become more frequent in several regions of Turkmenistan.

A law on the prevention and liquidation of emergencies entered into force in Turkmenistan in 2021, making concealment of information in this area legally liable. The document states that public authorities are obliged to inform the population promptly about emergencies.

Credits: Eziz Boyarov, Ashgabat