Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
10ASHGABAT236
2010-02-24 10:00:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Ashgabat
Cable title:
TURKMENISTAN: ASHGABAT MUNICIPALITY FAILS WINTER
how-toVZCZCXRO1760 RR RUEHIK DE RUEHAH #0236 0551000 ZNR UUUUU ZZH R 241000Z FEB 10 FM AMEMBASSY ASHGABAT TO RUQC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4281 INFO RUCNCLS/ALL SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA COLLECTIVE RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA 6284 RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 3956 RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 3815 RUEHIT/AMCONSUL ISTANBUL 4528 RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 1497 RHMCSUU/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL RUEHVEN/USMISSION USOSCE 4425 RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC
UNCLAS ASHGABAT 000236
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
STATE FOR SCA/CEN
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: SOCI PGOV TX
SUBJECT: TURKMENISTAN: ASHGABAT MUNICIPALITY FAILS WINTER
TEST
UNCLAS ASHGABAT 000236
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
STATE FOR SCA/CEN
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: SOCI PGOV TX
SUBJECT: TURKMENISTAN: ASHGABAT MUNICIPALITY FAILS WINTER
TEST
1. (U) Sensitive but unclassified. Not for Internet
distribution
2. (SBU) SUMMARY: The shortcomings of Ashgabat's
municipal services and emergency preparedness were
vividly illustrated when a heavy snowfall hit the
Turkmen capital on February 12. Icy roads crippled
both public and private transport, creating
additional difficulties for workers trying to get
to and from work. Except for central areas and the
route to the president's home, the rest of the
city's roads were completely neglected.
Particularly noticeable was the lack of public
information about road conditions and public
transport disruptions. As a test of the
government's ability to communicate with
the public in an emergency, the snowstorm showed
there remains a lot of room for improvement.
END SUMMARY.
3. (SBU) On February 12, a heavy snowfall
paralyzed life in the Turkmen capital. Temperatures
dropped down below 14F at night and barely
reached 32F during the day. Traffic was
primarily affected by icy, slippery roads, which
seldom occur in Ashgabat. The municipality
appeared unprepared to react to the heavy snowfall.
Apart from some central roads and roads along the
president's route home, no other roads were cleared
of snow or treated with salt or sand. Minor
traffic accidents multiplied. Traffic police
restricted access to some main arteries to avoid
mass traffic accidents. This led to heavy
congestion in the city center.
4. (SBU) Public bus transportation was crippled as
many buses were inoperable due to their tread-worn
tires. Since the public was not informed about the
severe reduction in bus service, bus stops were
full of people trying to get to work or school, and
those few buses circulating in the city were
packed. Private, usually ubiquitous, taxis were
difficult to catch since many taxi drivers also
stayed off the slippery roads. Drivers that did
pick up passengers grossly overcharged. An
Ashgabat resident who lives in Mir district said
that for a ride home from the city center during
the storm cost 10 Manats (approximately $3.50),
while normally she pays only 2 Manats ($.70). She
said, "It was very difficult to catch a taxi, I
spent an hour trying to get one, and then nearly
another hour to get home, while usually it takes
only 15 minutes for me to get home from work." The
situation was even more difficult for those who
live outside of Ashgabat.
5. (SBU) COMMENT: While snowstorms and blizzards
like this one are not ordinary occurrences in
southern Turkmenistan, no one is surprised when
they do occur. The heavy snowfall of February 12
revealed the Ashgabat municipal authorities' lack
of preparedness in the face of an extreme weather
event. Especially noticeable was the government's
failure to provide public information about road
conditions and transport disruptions. In the event
of other possible emergency situations, it is not
likely that the government's response would be any
more effective. END COMMENT.
CURRAN
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
STATE FOR SCA/CEN
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: SOCI PGOV TX
SUBJECT: TURKMENISTAN: ASHGABAT MUNICIPALITY FAILS WINTER
TEST
1. (U) Sensitive but unclassified. Not for Internet
distribution
2. (SBU) SUMMARY: The shortcomings of Ashgabat's
municipal services and emergency preparedness were
vividly illustrated when a heavy snowfall hit the
Turkmen capital on February 12. Icy roads crippled
both public and private transport, creating
additional difficulties for workers trying to get
to and from work. Except for central areas and the
route to the president's home, the rest of the
city's roads were completely neglected.
Particularly noticeable was the lack of public
information about road conditions and public
transport disruptions. As a test of the
government's ability to communicate with
the public in an emergency, the snowstorm showed
there remains a lot of room for improvement.
END SUMMARY.
3. (SBU) On February 12, a heavy snowfall
paralyzed life in the Turkmen capital. Temperatures
dropped down below 14F at night and barely
reached 32F during the day. Traffic was
primarily affected by icy, slippery roads, which
seldom occur in Ashgabat. The municipality
appeared unprepared to react to the heavy snowfall.
Apart from some central roads and roads along the
president's route home, no other roads were cleared
of snow or treated with salt or sand. Minor
traffic accidents multiplied. Traffic police
restricted access to some main arteries to avoid
mass traffic accidents. This led to heavy
congestion in the city center.
4. (SBU) Public bus transportation was crippled as
many buses were inoperable due to their tread-worn
tires. Since the public was not informed about the
severe reduction in bus service, bus stops were
full of people trying to get to work or school, and
those few buses circulating in the city were
packed. Private, usually ubiquitous, taxis were
difficult to catch since many taxi drivers also
stayed off the slippery roads. Drivers that did
pick up passengers grossly overcharged. An
Ashgabat resident who lives in Mir district said
that for a ride home from the city center during
the storm cost 10 Manats (approximately $3.50),
while normally she pays only 2 Manats ($.70). She
said, "It was very difficult to catch a taxi, I
spent an hour trying to get one, and then nearly
another hour to get home, while usually it takes
only 15 minutes for me to get home from work." The
situation was even more difficult for those who
live outside of Ashgabat.
5. (SBU) COMMENT: While snowstorms and blizzards
like this one are not ordinary occurrences in
southern Turkmenistan, no one is surprised when
they do occur. The heavy snowfall of February 12
revealed the Ashgabat municipal authorities' lack
of preparedness in the face of an extreme weather
event. Especially noticeable was the government's
failure to provide public information about road
conditions and transport disruptions. In the event
of other possible emergency situations, it is not
likely that the government's response would be any
more effective. END COMMENT.
CURRAN