Catastrophic Floods Hit Russia's Siberia

Russia

Moscow Times
06 Jun 2014

More than 50,000 people have been affected by flooding in three Siberian regions, the Emergency Situations Ministry said.

A total of 2,870 buildings in 23 localities were affected across the Altai region and the republics of Altai and Khakassia, the ministry said on its website.

The ministry said water levels remained the highest on record in many areas of the Altai region, the worst affected area, Interfax reported.

Road traffic in some districts of the regional capital Barnaul had to be replaced with motor boats due to the flooding, the report said.

The son of a local official died last week trying to save a six-year-old girl when a dam burst in the Charyshsky district of the Altai region, local news website Altapress.ru reported earlier. The child also drowned.

Yakov Ishutin, deputy governor of the Altai region, spoke of looting in flooded areas, though he did not elaborate.

A total of 17,000 people and 4,600 units of machinery have been deployed to deal with the flooding, the ministry said.

Damages are tentatively estimated at 500 million rubles ($14.5 million).

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VOR
13 Jun 2014

Russia’s Emergencies Ministry (EMERCOM) has sent 24 emergency response and restoration teams in additional reinforcements to help victims of floods in southern Siberia’s regions, EMERCOM spokesman Alexander Drobyshevsky said on Wednesday.

The emergency response teams have been formed from students of Emergencies Ministry universities.

"Today, 243 cadets of the State Fire Academy and the St. Petersburg University of State Fire Service of the Russian Emergencies Ministry have arrived by air from Moscow and St. Petersburg to the Abakan International Airport (in Russia’s republic of Khakassia)," Drobyshevsky said.

A total of more than 200 emergency response teams work in the affected regions, pumping out water, restoring bridges and power transmission lines, clearing farmsteads, and delivering food and water to flood victims.

Devastating floods in Russia’s southern Siberia have been caused by excessive precipitation, where monthly rainfall was registered over just a few days from May 27 to 31.

Nearly 200 settlements in the republics of Altai, Tuva, Khakassia and in the Altai territory were partially flooded, and more than 36,000 people were evacuated.