Azerbaijan evacuates 1,351 people amid floods and heavy rain

A total of 1,351 people have been evacuated in Azerbaijan this year due to heavy rain and flooding, compared with 170 in the same period last year, Akshin Alili, head of a department at the State Service for Control over Small-Sized Vessels and Rescue Operations on Water under Azerbaijan’s Emergencies Ministry, said at a briefing on the results of the beach season.

The number of people evacuated due to flooding rose nearly eightfold, or 695%, year-on-year.

Alili said an additional 38 people were provided with assistance in flooded areas, compared with nine in the same period last year.

The number of people rescued from bodies of water rose to 107 from 73 during the period. The number of people rescued from the risk of drowning during the beach season increased to 97 from 70, a rise of about 39%.

No drowning deaths were recorded at beaches under the supervision of the Emergencies Ministry this year. Fatalities occurred in uncontrolled bodies of water and areas not designated for swimming.

During the period, the bodies of 64 people were recovered from water in areas not designated for swimming, down from 85 a year earlier, a decline of about 25%.

Alili said the main causes of drowning included entering the water in windy weather or while intoxicated, leaving children and teenagers unsupervised, and using rivers, lakes, irrigation canals and other bodies of water not designated for swimming.

According to the Emergencies Ministry, the overall number of drowning incidents during the beach season fell by 13% compared with the same period last year.

Aytac Zeynalova