Azernews.Az

By Amina Nazarli

Intensive snow melting in Azerbaijan’s northern regions can increase the water level in the rivers, which can cause mudflows and create problems for the residents living near the mountain rivers.

Nazir Mustafayev, the chief engineer at the Gakh city Irrigation Systems Department said over one-meter snow in mountains begins to melt. “The process is quite intense in Aran regions. Some 30-40 percent of snow in the mountains melted, leading to increase of water level in the rivers."

Dry weather observed over the past two years dried up some mountain rivers throughout the country. The water shortage is a problem not only for residents, but also a danger to agriculture and farming. The lack of irrigation systems negatively impacts the growth of fruits and vegetables.

“Summer was drought in Azerbaijan for two years. Low snowfall in winter created several difficulties in summer. But, this year, the situation is different,” Mustafayev said.

Although the mountain rivers such as Kurmur, Zarna and Lakit dried last year, this year’s precipitations will lead to an increase in their level, and thus raising the risk of floods and mudflows.

Mustafayev added that the agency already took some measures to prevent the floods.

“We expected the danger of mudflows and floods since autumn, theretofore the agency constructed stone and concrete dams in the mountain rivers. Sufficient amount of water for summer have been stored in the low temperature regions. Thus we will be able to prevent the problem with watering of sown areas in summer,” he said.

Specialists claim that fortification work along rivers reduces the risk of floods and mudflows, as well as contributes to the accumulation of sufficient base of water resources for irrigation acreage.

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Amina Nazarli is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @amina_nazarli

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