In the middle of the vast, arid region between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan lies the Aral Sea, a land-locked body of salt water. Once home to hundreds of species of fish which supported nearby communities for centuries, the sea was almost irreversibly drained during Soviet rule.
Years of research worldwide have shown that there is currently no scientifically accepted method for short-term earthquake prediction that can reliably be used by Civil Protection authorities for rapid and effective emergency actions.