Officials and Contractor Convicted Over Failure of Almaty Earthquake Warning System

Several officials and contractors have been found guilty over the failure of Almaty’s automated earthquake early warning system (AEWS), Orda.kz reports.

When a 6.7-magnitude earthquake struck the city in January 2024, the system — designed to alert residents in advance — did not activate, leaving the public without warning.

According to the prosecutor’s office,

Serious violations were found during the procurement of the system by the Department of Emergency Situations. The contractor, TNS-INTEC LLP, supplied substandard equipment and issued fictitious completion certificates, thereby embezzling budget funds on a large scale.

The Almaty Garrison Military Court delivered its verdict, finding three deputy heads of the city’s Department of Emergency Situations criminally liable for negligence during the system’s acceptance process. Specialists responsible for design and technical supervision were also penalized.

Prosecutors did not specify sentence terms.

The earthquake alert system, which cost 1.1 billion tenge, was reportedly still in the testing phase at the time of the quake. Instead of sirens, residents only received push notifications on Android devices.

The project’s contractor, TNS-INTEC, was the sole bidder in the procurement process. The company is reportedly linked to Nurali Aliyev.

Original Author: Ruslan Loginov