Floods in Kazakhstan

Floods in Kazakhstan occur due to seasonal snowmelt, heavy rainfall, and river overflows. A total of 12 floods have been documented in the country, including the most recent in 2024. In The Spring of that year, rainfall and snowmelt led to widespread flooding, and a state of emergency was declared in ten of Kazakhstan’s 17 regions on 6 April. An estimated 120,000 individuals were displaced, compared to an annual average of approximately 6,500 over the previous decade. The Ural River, which flows from Orenburg through northwest Kazakhstan into the Caspian Sea, along with the Ishim and Tobol rivers, reached elevated levels during the event. A major flood also occurred in 2010, when a dam failure caused by snowmelt and rainfall resulted in extensive damage. Economic losses from the 2024 floods were estimated at over 200 billion tenge (approximately USD 440 million).