Global Report on Internal Displacement 2025

​Regional Overviews
 
Europe & Central Asia: Spotlight – Kazakhstan
Heavy rains and rapid snowmelt caused Kazakhstan’s most devastating floods in 80 years in the spring of 2024, prompting the government to declare a state of emergency across ten of 17 regions on 6 April. 120,000 internal displacements were reported, compared with an annual average of 6,500 over the past decade. It was by far the highest disaster displacement figure on record for the country, highlighting its vulnerability to hazards and the need to strengthen resilience. 
 
The floods caused widespread devastation as dams breached, reservoirs overflowed and rivers burst their banks, particularly in western and northern areas of the country. The situation was further aggravated by the release of floodwater from reservoirs in neighbouring Russia.
 
Most displacements involved the evacuation of people at imminent risk of flooding, and these reached their peak on 17 April. The Atyrau region recorded the largest number, with more than 37,000. Almost all of them took place in the town of Kulsary, where more than half of the residents left their homes. Given the importance of agriculture to rural livelihoods and the country’s economy, authorities also supported the movement of cattle to safer areas.
 
Local authorities and national government institutions including the Ministries of Water Resources and Irrigation, Emergency Situations, Defence and Internal Affairs deployed thousands of staff to set up shelters, provide IDPs with food and other assistance, pump excess water, protect buildings from further flooding and repair damaged roads. The government also provided financial support for IDPs and took measures to prevent price increases of food and medicines.
 
The private sector contributed to the response, providing funding, personnel, machinery and buses and dormitories for evacuees. Companies also helped to restore flood defences along several rivers. Volunteer organisations also participated in flood protection measures and relief efforts.
 
In the West Kazakhstan region, which was one of the most affected, 150 kilometres of protective structures were installed. Dams were also built to minimise damage and losses in 18 residential areas of the region’s capital of Uralsk, which lies at the confluence of two rivers and is home to 358,000 people.
 
As the floodwaters receded in May, most people were able to return home, but nearly 50,000 were displaced as of 22 July, when data was last available. About half of the 18,000 affected homes the government had inspected by the same date were in need of repair or restoration, and the authorities provided financial assistance for the work to be carried out. The owners of more than 8,000 homes considered to be in “emergency” condition were given the option of buying another existing property or having a new home built at the government’s expense, thereby supporting IDPs in their search for solutions.
 
Small and medium-sized businesses also received compensation for their property losses, and measures were taken to restore roads and education and health facilities damaged by the floods.
 
The whole-of-government approach to responding to and recovering from the disaster allowed many IDPs to resolve their displacement in a matter of months, but the floods also revealed gaps in the country’s management of disaster risk and lessons to be learned, some of which have already been acted upon. These include the creation of a flood forecasting and modelling system and a platform on emergencies to facilitate information sharing on disaster prevention and response.The government also established a Committee for the Prevention of Emergency Situations tasked with coordinating interventions and to take steps to modernise the rescue services.
 
Taken together, these measures could help reduce disaster displacement risk, which is much needed given that an average of 8,800 people could be displaced by riverine floods in Kazakhstan in any given year in the future, rising to 14,500 in a pessimistic climate change scenario of 5°C of global warming. Temperatures in the country are projected to rise faster than the global average, which means glacier melt and extreme weathers could drive more severe floods, making disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation all the more imperative.
 
Global Report on Internal Displacement 2025. Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre. Norwegian Refugee Council. Geneva, Switzerland.