Journey Of Hope - Fall 2018 Journey of Hope 2018 | Page 12

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10 | JOURNEY OF HOPE
Zone
by Hannah White
Tajikistan is a beautiful country — golden grass fields,
spikey grey mountains, and blooming apricot orchards.
But just underneath this beautiful exterior, danger lurks.
The country is a hotbed of avalanches, earthquakes,
mudslides, floods, and landslides. Neck-and-neck with
its neighbor Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan leads the disaster
incidences and fatalities in Central Asia.
It probably goes without saying, that building schools
in the region is a dangerous business. Construction
crews, students, teachers, and staff encounter all sorts of
natural hazards in their efforts to promote and pursue
education. Here are some of the hazards they face: Unfortunately, incidents like this will continue
to happen as an estimated 88.3 percent of Tajikistan’s
population live in seismic disaster zones. The term
“disaster zone” is not an exaggeration. The force of these
earthquakes is significant. “In the last century there have
been three earthquakes in Tajikistan with a magnitude
greater than seven and 500 greater than five,” reports UN
Disaster Risk Reduction Advisor Michael Thurman.
Between 1997-2007, 229 seismic events resulted
in cumulative damages of $49 million. One earthquake
in 1985, cost the nation $300 million and affected
8,080 people.
EARTHQUAKES:
Several years ago, in Tajikistan’s Vanj District,
a dilapidated Soviet-Era school was heavily damaged
in an earthquake. Events like this are a common
occurrence in the region, as old timber buildings
continue to be used long after their intended expiration
dates. These poorly constructed structures buckle, break,
and warp easily when subjected to extreme forces, like
an earthquake. Luckily for the community, CAI Tajikistan
replaced the damaged school in 2012. FLOODS:
In mountain canyons carved out by waterways,
towns are built precariously on river banks and
cliffsides. Floods pose a very serious threat to these
communities. One such community, Dasht, was totally
destroyed in 2002 when a flash flood struck. The UN
reported 28 casualties and 75 houses destroyed. CAI
Tajikistan built a sport hall in Tusiyon Village just a few
miles away from where the Dasht disaster happened.
The sport hall was built on a mountainside, well out
of range of flood waters.
CENTRAL ASIA INSTITUTE