Nearly 100,000 people have been displaced in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan after an Uzbek dam burst, flooding thousands of homes and destroying agricultural fields.

The wall of the Sardoba reservoir dam in eastern Uzbekistan burst early on Friday triggering a government operation that saw 70,000 people evacuated.

More than 50 people were hospitalised during the flooding in Uzbekistan.

Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev tweeted on Sunday that 10 Kazakh villages close to the Uzbek border had suffered "strong flooding" forcing authorities to evacuate 22,000 people.

Tokayev also said the two governments were in talks after Kazakh officials complained of significant damages and not receiving timely information from Uzbekistan about flooding.

Uzbekistan said earlier Sunday that a criminal probe had been opened into "official negligence" and construction violations.

Construction of the Sardoba dam began in 2010 under the supervision of current President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, who was prime minister at the time.

It was completed in 2017.

Mirziyoyev on Friday flew to the region, which saw strong winds and rains prior to the collapse of the dam, in order to oversee the evacuation and cleanup operation.

Officials in Kazakhstan's southern Turkestan region criticised Uzbekistan for not providing timely information on the status of flood control on Saturday.

"We have a copy of our correspondence with the Uzbek side, that as of (8 pm on Friday) the situation was stable and there were no problems," said Saken Kalkamanov, deputy governor of the Turkestan region.

"They said that not a drop of water would reach Maktaraal district," he said, referring to the area where the flood hit.

"Nevertheless, what happened has happened."

The administration of the Turkestan region estimated the floods caused crop damage worth more than $400,000 -- mostly to cotton, which is grown throughout the Central Asian region.

Turkmenistan to hold WWII military parade despite pandemic
Ashgabat, Turkmenistan (AFP) May 1, 2020 - Turkmenistan on Friday confirmed plans to hold a military parade marking 75 years since the end of World War II as the Central Asian state maintains it has no coronavirus cases.

"Turkmenistan will celebrate May 9 Victory Day with a military parade and fireworks," the Miras state television channel reported.

The newsreader said that various branches of the armed forces are rehearsing for the parade, which will also include World War II-era vehicles.

The parade will take place on a square in the capital Ashgabat in front of the Eternal Flame memorial to fallen soldiers.

The decision comes after Russia postponed a grandiose Red Square parade with invited guests including French President Emmanuel Macron due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Another exception is Belarus, which has not indicated it will cancel its traditional May 9 parade in Minsk.

Turkmenistan, a politically isolated oil-rich state, is one of the few countries in the world not to report any coronavirus cases.

Fellow Central Asian state Tajikistan also reported no cases until Thursday when it said 15 people had tested positive.

A source in the Turkmen culture ministry told AFP that the government decided it was safe to go ahead with the parade.

"Not a single case of the illness has been identified and so a decision was taken at the government level to pass on the torch of commemoration and hold the parade," the source said.

Unlike several other ex-Soviet countries, Turkmenistan has not previously held parades on May 9.

Since the coronavirus pandemic began it has continued to hold mass public events.

On Sunday, President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov attended a packed horse racing event although he sat in a separate box.

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