The National Emergency Management Agency’s small provincial team saved more than 80 others who had been trapped or lost in the snow. It was a situation no one could deal with,” says Togtokhsuren Dulamorj, governor of Uvurkhangai province, which is one of the worst affected areas.įreak snowstorms were also reported, claiming the lives of 16 people. So we made the decision to declare a disaster zone. “In the wintertime we had the situation here where it was -40 to -45 degrees celsius. Then winter hit early and with a vengeance. There were poor grass yields in the summer of 2009 in central Mongolia. They’re the victims of what the Mongolians call a zhud – a condition where a summer drought is followed by a very cold and snowy winter. That’s one in five of the entire national herd. Across the country an estimated 8.5 million goats, sheep, horses, camels, yaks and cows have died of hunger or succumbed to the freezing conditions. Mongolia is counting the cost of one of the harshest winters on record. There is a cloud of melancholy over the group. The herders of the Uvurkhangai province in central Mongolia are burying the carcasses of hundreds upon hundreds of goats. It is a timeless image – romantic and rustic.īut as we get closer to the scene, upon a gentle slope there is a mass grave. Local men and women are wearing the traditional deel, or robe, as they go about their work. It is an awe-inspiring sight: the vast plains of Mongolia where animals roam free. Disaster zone … A herder on the way to the local burial ground in the Zuunbayan-Ulaan district of Mongolia.
0 kommentar(er)
