The republican command and staff exercise "Spring-2026" will be held in Kazakhstan from February 25 to 27. The large-scale event is being organized in accordance with the instructions of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Republic of Kazakhstan and is aimed at testing readiness for the spring flood period.
This was announced today at a briefing held at the Regional Communications Service in Shymkent by Sharip Askar Rysbekuly, engineer of the Emergency Situations Department of the Shymkent Emergency Situations Department, civil defense captain.
The main theme of the exercise is to improve preparedness for emergency response, rescue and emergency operations in the event of a worsening flood situation in the spring of 2026. In this regard, special organizational instructions for preparing and conducting the exercise in the city have been developed and submitted to the city akim for approval.
During the event, an operational city headquarters will be created on the basis of the department, and territorial subsystems of civil defense will be put on high alert. The operability of warning and communication systems, the ability of emergency and rescue services to respond quickly will be checked. In addition, comprehensive measures aimed at preventing spring floods will be carried out on a large scale.
As part of the practical part, 9 training points with a high risk of flooding have been identified in the city. In particular, training will be held at 2 points in Abay district, 1 in Al-Farabi district, 3 in Enbekshi district, 1 in Turan district, and 2 in Karatau district. In addition, at one facility, the forces and equipment of the city of Shymkent will practice loading and unloading engineering and other equipment using the railway platforms of the National Railway Company KTZ.
The issues of assembling emergency response teams, evacuating the affected population and deploying reception points, and promptly sending forces and equipment of civil defense agencies and local executive bodies to the territory of the Turkestan region will also be considered in practice. In this case, the main focus is on the full readiness of personnel to act in autonomous conditions.
As part of the "Spring-2026" exercise, the 1st echelon has been fully prepared to provide assistance to areas of the Turkestan region where the flood situation may worsen. The unit, which consists of 32 personnel, 6 units of equipment, 9 motor pumps, 1 floating device and 1 unmanned aerial vehicle, is ready to go at any time. In addition, 2 tents with a capacity of 20 people are provided. These forces will be directed to eliminate the consequences of possible floods, protect the population and conduct emergency response work.
In accordance with the organizational instructions, the heads of civil defense services, military units and relevant institutions were instructed to strictly monitor the implementation of all activities. The participation of responsible employees with the right to make decisions and not lower than the position of deputy head of the department was required.
As part of the preparation, a meeting of the commission for the prevention and elimination of emergency situations was held on February 20 at the department. The level of preparedness for the spring flood period was discussed in detail at the meeting, and the readiness of management bodies and forces was clarified. The agenda included the procedure for organizing training exercises, measures for preventing possible emergency situations, calculation of forces and means, algorithms for conducting emergency rescue and urgent work, as well as the procedure for interaction between state bodies and services.
Following the results of the commission meeting, specific tasks were assigned to the responsible structural divisions and the task was set to conduct the training at a high level within the specified time frame.
After the end of the exercise, detailed information about its results will be provided to the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Shymkent city administration.