Avalanche hits east Kazakhstan as heavy snow triggers road closures

The East Kazakhstan region is on high alert for avalanche dangers due to heavy snowfall and strong winds.

This early morning, an avalanche of 1,300 cubic meters of snow occurred on the 62nd km of the Ust-Kamenogorsk-Altai-Ulken-Naryn-Katon-Karagay-Rakhmanovskiye klyuchi highway. The 50-60m-long and around 3m-high avalanche blocked the road, The Caspian Post reports, citing Kazakh media.

Movement on the road segment was limited in advance, as the storm warning had been issued. There were no one injured. The road opened at 8:15am following snow removal works, said the region’s emergency situations department.

Earlier it was reported that Kazakhstan was set to be battered with blizzard and wind exceeding 30mps on January 3, 2025.