The Northern Flood: how the Caucasus copes with the effects of bad weather
Hundreds of houses and roads remain flooded due to the powerful cyclone in Dagestan. There is still no electricity in some localities, and there are problems with drinking water. Due to the fact that the heavy rains have ended, the flood has begun to gradually recede, but the situation is still critical: the cyclone leaves destruction in its wake. Rescuers are pumping water out of basements, clearing the premises of debris and trees. At the same time, the weather in Central Russia is dry, corresponding to the end of April. Due to the lack of rain, a lot of pollen has accumulated in the air, which has a bad effect on the condition of allergy sufferers.
How to deal with flood consequences
The devastating cyclone that caused flooding in the North Caucasus has begun to recede — heavy precipitation is not expected in the region in the near future, Alexander Shuvalov, head of the Meteo forecasting center, told Izvestia.
— The cyclone is present in the south of the European territory of Russia, but it has already played a major role, — said the forecaster. — There were very heavy rains on March 28, they lasted about 36 hours. Now the situation with precipitation in Dagestan, Chechnya and North Ossetia has calmed down — there are either no or very few of them.
Despite the fact that the water has begun to recede, the situation is still critical — the cyclone has left destruction in its wake. In Dagestan, more than 3.3 thousand residents, including more than a thousand children, were taken out of flooded areas, the regional Department of the Ministry of Emergency Situations reported.
"During the day, 544 residential buildings, 698 household plots and 120 sections of highways were cleared of water. 235 residential buildings, 550 household plots and ten sections of roads remain flooded," they said.
Rescuers continue to deal with the consequences of the flood: they are pumping water from basements, monitoring the hydrological situation, and also clearing the premises of debris and trees.
A regional emergency regime is currently operating in Makhachkala, Buinaksk, Dagestan Lights, Kaspiysk, Khasavyurt, Derbent, Karabudakhkentsky and Khasavyurt districts — the decree was signed by the head of Dagestan Sergey Melikov.
Due to heavy rains, the water level in the rivers of Dagestan rose to a record one and a half meters. Hundreds of people were left without electricity, many lost property and a roof over their heads. Some houses were flooded up to the ceiling.
Water flows overturned cars, railway bridges collapsed in two districts of Dagestan at once.
"The situation in the Khasavyurt district remains difficult, where the population of four villages had to be evacuated," Sergei Melikov wrote on social media on March 30. "Residential buildings and infrastructure facilities were damaged — even patients from one of the medical institutions had to be evacuated."
According to Melikov, there are still interruptions in electricity and gas supply in the region, and there are difficulties in the operation of transport.
Locked up without light or food
Many residents of Dagestan have moved to temporary accommodation, while others are staying with relatives whose homes were not damaged.
Aishat Aldukhova from Makhachkala told Izvestia that rescuers pulled her out of her house through a window (the woman lives in the private sector) and took her out by boat.
Residents of apartment buildings are also suffering from flooding — they are trapped in their apartments without light and food, Raisat Hamidova, a resident of Makhachkala, told Izvestia. According to her, people cannot walk to the store because of flooded roads and are forced to finish their supplies, which are stored for the third day without a refrigerator.
— My 85-year-old mother lives with me, who suffers from blood pressure and panic attacks. She's afraid of the dark. I light candles in the evening, but it's not enough. Many of the neighbors have small children," the woman shared.
She added that the tap water is running weakly, so washing is also a problem. Mobile communication does not work periodically.
— The same situation happened last year. We were sitting without electricity for three days in the same way. Now we are told that there will be no light for even longer," said Raisat.
Another resident of Makhachkala told Izvestia that she had been living in a flooded private house all last weekend.
— The floors were under water. We couldn't get out because we were afraid to open the door and it would get even harder. They offered to evacuate us, but on the third day, when the water began to recede," the woman shared.
She added that it took all night to pump water out of the yard using a drainage pump.
A local resident Khadizhat Chumalayeva complained that she was worried about the situation in the flooded apartment.
"Given the current prices for repairs and furniture, given that everything has gone bad, the damage will be in the region of 2 million," she complained.
Where else is flooding
The disaster also affected neighboring regions — North Ossetia, Chechnya and Ingushetia. More than 1,100 people were evacuated from the Chechen town of Gudermes, the village of Kundukhovo and the village of Braguny. Several settlements were flooded in the region, roads and bridges were washed out, the Ministry of Emergency Situations reported.
In the Prigorodny district of North Ossetia, a retaining wall and a pedestrian bridge on the left bank of the Kambileyevka River collapsed, and the highway between the villages of Oktyabrskoye and Tarskoye was washed away. On March 30, the head of the republic, Sergei Menyailo, announced that traffic had been restored along it.
"Specialists from the Committee of Road Management have been working all day. We understand how important this is for the residents of the settlements," he wrote on social media. "The situation is under constant control: the water level in the river is decreasing."
The rains led to a rise in river levels in Ingushetia. But the head of the republic, Mahmud-Ali Kalimatov, noted that the indicators meet the regulatory values and do not exceed critical levels. He also added that residents of a number of settlements are reporting power outages.
Rains are expected in the center of Russia
Meanwhile, the weather in Central Russia is dry and clear. But its nature will begin to change soon — light rains are expected in Moscow from April 1 to 5, Tatyana Pozdnyakova, a leading specialist at the Meteonosti agency, told Izvestia.
— The weather in the center of Russia, in particular in the Moscow region, will be determined by the southern cyclone and its atmospheric fronts. They will pass through the Chernozem region, Tula and Kaluga regions and reach Moscow," she predicts. — But the background temperature will not change significantly from this: the nights will remain warm, within +2...+7 degrees, during the day +13 ... +18 is expected, in the Chernozem region — up to +20. This is significantly higher than the climatic norm.
Short-term rains, more like summer rains, will also take place this week in the Krasnodar Territory, the Rostov Region, the Crimea, and the regions of the Lower Volga, Alexander Shuvalov predicts. They will not be of an "extreme nature."
According to Tatiana Pozdnyakova, such warm weather in Central Russia is more consistent with the end of April. At the same time, the absence of rain negatively affects the well-being of allergy sufferers.
— There are a lot of dust particles left over from the winter in the dry air. In addition, alder, willow and other trees have already begun to bloom. The birches will soon be releasing their earrings. Therefore, the rains that we are counting on will benefit both nature and residents of the capital region," said the meteorologist.
Brighter tree dusting is expected this spring, which is very dangerous for patients with hay fever (an allergic disease caused by plant pollen. — Ed.), Alexey Bessmertny, an allergist and immunologist at the Soft Medical Center clinic, told Izvestia.
According to him, alder and hazel are actively blooming now, and birch, oak, maple and poplar will begin later.
"Against the background of dry, warm and windy weather, pollen enters the human body in greater quantities, which means that a brighter or earlier allergic reaction is possible," he explained. — For allergy sufferers, wet weather is much more comfortable, since pollen grains do not fly in such quantities in the air. Now the dusting has already begun. Its peak will last from April 20th to May 10th. You can survive this time with the help of medications prescribed by a doctor, or leave the region.
Allergy sufferers should not stay outside for long in dry, windy weather, as well as walk in parks. It is necessary to carry out wet cleaning at home, use air conditioning instead of ventilation — this way the air will circulate inside the apartment, and pollen will not get in from the street. After a walk, you need to change into your home clothes, wash your face and hands, and wash your hair every day, because we bring pollen home on our hair, the doctor recommended.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
