Blackout in Almaty causes severe traffic congestion

Power outages and widespread traffic light failures have caused severe traffic congestion in Almaty, with traffic jams reaching 8 points, as evidenced by data from city services and information from Kazakhstan's Ministry of Energy, according to Report.

The Energy Ministry previously reported that on August 14, a power surge occurred in the energy system due to a sharp change in electricity flows from the Central Asian power system. As a result, the emergency protection system was activated, causing power outages for a number of consumers in several regions of the country.

In Almaty, traffic lights stopped working at many intersections, significantly disrupting traffic. Major congestion was reported on Abai, Al-Farabi, Raimbek and Nazarbayev avenues, as well as Satpayev, Zhandosov and Tole Bi streets.

Additional pressure on the roads was caused by traffic restrictions around the Central Stadium due to a Kanye West concert.

System operator KEGOC is carrying out restoration work. Power has already been restored in several regions. The situation remains under the control of Kazakhstan"s Ministry of Energy.