'Left With Just The Clothes We Were Wearing': Devastating Flood Made Kyrgyz Man An Environmental Migrant
- By Sabyr Abdymomunov,
- RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service and
- Ray Furlong
Medet Askarov left his village in Kyrgyzstan and moved to Moscow with his family after a flood destroyed his home. Many other Kyrgyz have migrated or moved because of severe drought. The World Bank says that by 2050, more than 200 million people worldwide will be displaced by natural disasters. According to its most pessimistic scenario, some 220,000 Kyrgyz will be forced to move to other towns and regions.