Azerbaijani president holds emergency meeting on flooding

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev held a meeting on eliminating the
consequences of the overflow of the Kura River on May 7th, APA
reports.
According to the President, flooding has hit 40 regions of the
republic, 20 thousand houses are under water, more than 300 houses
have collapsed, 2000 houses have been damaged and 50 thousand hectares
of fields remain under water.
The head of state noted that he had given instructions to evacuate
people and their cattle from the affected villages and measures were
being taken to prevent flooding, by redirecting the water. The
president highly appreciated the role of organizations and people
involved in the elimination of the consequences caused by the flooding
and gave additional instructions in this respect.
Moreover, the head of state set the tasks of developing a plan of
complex measures for the next two years and purchasing new
cutting-edge equipment. According to him, people affected by this
natural disaster will be paid compensation and comprehensive
assistance will be rendered to them.
Minister of Emergency Situations Kamaladdin Heydarov, Health Minister
Ogtay Shiraliyev, Minister of Transport Ziya Mammadov, Minister of
Agriculture Ismet Abbasov, and Ecology and Natural Resources Minister
Huseyn Bagirov provided detailed information on the increase in the
volume of water in the Kura River and the measures taken to eliminate
the consequences.
President Ilham Aliyev gave instructions to the heads of the relative
bodies to solve the problem and accelerate the development of the plan
of complex measures.