Long flood: the active flood phase began in 11 regions
The most difficult situation in late March due to the spring floods in Russia was recorded in the Chelyabinsk region, Bashkiria and the Krasnoyarsk Territory, the Ministry of Emergency Situations reported. Houses, land plots, bridges and roads were flooded, and people had to be evacuated. In total, the active phase of flood development is observed in 11 regions. The reason is the flow of meltwater into the rivers and the formation of ice jams, the Hydrometeorological Center reported. In the coming days, flooding is possible in several more settlements, including in the Orenburg region, which was extensively affected last year. Flooding is expected there two weeks earlier than normal. The information about where the situation may become critical is in the Izvestia article.
Where there is flooding
The spring flood has entered an active phase in 11 Russian regions, the Ministry of Emergency Situations reported. According to the ministry, more than 100 residential buildings and over 300 household plots, as well as bridges and roads remain flooded.
— Rescuers of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations are carrying out preventive measures and monitoring the situation, including using drones. In places of flooding, targeted assistance is provided to people, boat crossings are organized, food and basic necessities are delivered," the department assured.
The situation in Bashkiria turned out to be the most difficult. The water level in the Isner River has risen there. An emergency mode was introduced in the Arkhangelsk region of the republic due to flooding in the village of Azovo.
— Pumping of water from low-lying areas is carried out in order to start pumping from the territory of residential buildings in the future. Roads and courtyard areas are being cleared of debris, and wells are being pumped out to clean up," said Eduard Idrisov, acting head of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations in Bashkiria.
A headquarters has been set up on the spot, food and drinking water are being brought for people. In total, rescuers evacuated more than 100 people, 80 of them, including 17 children, were transported to temporary accommodation facilities, said the head of the republic Radiy Khabirov.
— Psychologists and social workers work with the villagers. The evacuation continues," he stressed.
In addition to the Arkhangelsk region, house plots on the territory of Beloretsky, Blagovarsky, Gafuriysky districts, 12 road sections and two bridges were flooded, he added.
Rescuers are monitoring the movement of the ice and carrying out explosive work, the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the region assured. They noted that glaciation, water on ice, ice movement, and ice drift are observed on the rivers of the republic.
Evacuation of the population to temporary accommodation facilities was also required in the Chelyabinsk region, where private houses and household plots were flooded. On Friday, an ice break took place on a flood-prone section of the Sim River, so the flooded dwellings were freed from water. "Explosives experts carried out 11 ice explosions on the Sim River from March 19 to March 21. The blasting is completed. Employees of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations continue to provide necessary assistance to the population and monitor the situation," the Ministry of Emergency Situations reported.
In the Krasnoyarsk Territory, where flooding was also recorded, the water level in the Minusinka River decreased. Now rescuers are eliminating the consequences of the flood.
What is the forecast of flood development
Spring floods are now observed on the rivers of the center and south-east of the European part of the country, as well as in the south of the Siberian Federal District, the Hydrometeorological Center noted. This is due to the flow of meltwater into the rivers, as well as the formation of ice jams, they noted. This is happening in the Samara, Orenburg, Chelyabinsk, Kurgan regions, as well as in Bashkortostan and the Krasnoyarsk Territory.
There is a risk of flooding of low-lying areas and highways in Khakassia and the southern regions of the Krasnoyarsk Territory.
"An ice jam has formed on the Sim River near the village of Glukhovsky in Bashkiria, there is an increase in water levels and flooding of the floodplain, an unfavorable mark may be exceeded by March 23: flooding of settlements, bridges and roads," the Hydrometeorological Center noted.
Water can reach the floodplain on small rivers of the Altai Territory, Kemerovo, Novosibirsk, Irkutsk regions and the Altai Republic.
In addition, the water level may reach unfavorable levels on the Ural River near the city of Orsk in the Orenburg region, as well as on the Bolshoy Kumak River near Novoorsk and Ori and near the village of Ashchebutak. The flood of 2024 turned out to be the most serious in the Orenburg region since 1957. On April 5 last year, a dam broke in Orsk, which protected the city from flooding of the Ural River. In Orenburg, about a third of the entire territory was flooded. More than 30 thousand houses were damaged in the region.
This year, the region has seriously prepared for the flood season, the press service of the local government assured Izvestia. So, in the fall of 2024 and in March 2025, hydraulic structures were examined in municipalities. The problematic ones were repaired. Major repairs of hydraulic structures of the Verkhne-Kumak reservoir of the Yasnensky city district have been completed.
— In Orsk, emergency recovery work has been completed at the sites of damage to the protective dam caused by the accident in 2024. The clearing of the Ural riverbed in Orsk has been completed in order to increase its capacity," the regional government stressed.
Operational response teams have been formed for possible emergencies.
"Given the importance of predicting the inflow to the Iriklinsky reservoir, as well as the impact on the passage of high water in the Orenburg region of neighboring subjects of Russia, the discussion of these issues has been brought to the federal level," the region said.
A coordination group was formed under the Federal Agency for Water Resources to develop a strategy for establishing operating modes for reservoirs in the Ural River Basin. The group included representatives of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Energy, the Russian Hydrometeorological Service and basin administrations of all regions bordering the Orenburg region. The water level in all major reservoirs there has been lowered to the design pre-water levels.
There may be 160 settlements in the potential flooding area. Food, drinking water, basic necessities and medicines were delivered to them in advance, the regional government assured.
— Spring flooding, according to the Russian Hydrometeorological Service, is expected at the annual average level, river flooding is 14-18 days earlier than normal, — the regional government told Izvestia.
However, water levels in the rivers of central Russia and the Volga basin turned out to be critically low, said Alexander Shuvalov, head of the Meteo forecasting center.
— In places, as in the Yaroslavl region, it has dropped to the level of water intakes. And the rivers can't get supplies from anywhere. The snow has gone, and if there will be precipitation, it will not be until the end of March. In other words, for the first time in many years, we are seeing not summer, but spring rainfall — the lowest water level in the river," he stressed.
The low water level in the Volga River from Rybinsk to Yaroslavl will create unfavorable environmental conditions, there is a possibility of interruptions in the water supply to the population and incomplete supply of water to economic and agricultural facilities, the regional Ministry of Emergency Situations noted.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
