Variable flow: emergency mode in Dagestan is being upgraded to federal

The regional emergency regime in Dagestan due to flooding will be upgraded to federal. This became known on April 7 at a meeting of Vladimir Putin on flood relief in the republic. The President called this weather abnormal — three monthly precipitation rates fell in the region in just one day. The disaster has already claimed the lives of six people, and in total the emergency zone has covered up to 1.5 million residents of Dagestan. The region is once again preparing to reflect the effects of a new wave, which is expected on April 11. What is preventing the elimination of flood consequences today is in the Izvestia article.

What Putin said about the floods in Dagestan

Dagestan has been living in the epicenter of a natural disaster for the past two weeks due to prolonged heavy rains. People's property has gone under water, power outages are intensifying, and infrastructure continues to deteriorate. Vladimir Putin called a meeting on this issue: not only representatives of the region and the affected municipalities, but also the entire Cabinet of Ministers joined via video link. The Head of State immediately described the raging disaster in the region as abnormal.

— In just one day on March 30, Dagestan had three monthly precipitation rates in one day. Since the beginning of meteorological observations, which was in 1882, there have never been any such indicators in the region," he said.

The situation was really developing rapidly — the water level in the rivers began to rise sharply on March 25, said Alexander Kurenkov, head of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations. The fact is that, unlike typical scenarios when cyclones form over the Black Sea and pass through the Caucasus Mountain Range, it has now emerged over the Caspian Sea, where it has accumulated a significant supply of moisture.

The disaster is not going to stop there: Dagestan is expecting a new wave of bad weather, said the head of the region, Sergei Melikov. Minister of Natural Resources and Ecology Alexander Kozlov announced that the third wave of flooding is expected there on April 11, and a storm warning will be issued a day earlier in Chechnya and Ingushetia.

A regional emergency regime has already been introduced since March 30 in the most affected 11 municipal districts of Dagestan, including Derbent, Makhachkala and Khasavyurt. However, it will be raised to the federal level in the near future, Alexander Kurenkov announced. Vladimir Putin has decided to create a government commission to eliminate the consequences of floods in Dagestan. It will be headed by the head of the Ministry of Emergency Situations. The president also asked Magomed Ramazanov, Deputy Plenipotentiary Representative of the head of state in the Far Eastern Federal District, to return to his small homeland to help eliminate the consequences of the flood.

Consequences of floods in the republic

Six people became victims of the disaster, including children aged five and 12. In total, the emergency zone has covered up to 1.5 million residents of Dagestan, more than 6 thousand people have already been evacuated, including 1.3 thousand minors. During the floods, more than 6 thousand residential buildings were flooded, more than 2 thousand They are still flooded.

The heads of municipalities of Makhachkala, Derbent and Khasavyurt district also joined the meeting from Sergey Melikov's office and presented their reports. However, the president was more interested in what acute problems remained on the ground — in particular, the electricity supply was seriously affected. The Ministry of Construction promised to take measures, and representatives of the department have already left for the site.

In addition, due to mudslides and landslides, almost 100 settlements were almost in a transport blockade. Vladimir Putin instructed the Minister of Transport Andrey Nikitin to help Dagestan with the elimination of damage to infrastructure — the agency has already outlined a plan for restoration work.

The natural disaster also affected Dagestan's agro-industrial complex: according to preliminary estimates, the damage amounted to about 640 million rubles, said Agriculture Minister Oksana Lut. Farmland, vineyards, and livestock were also affected, especially in private farms. According to local authorities, about 700 heads of large and 2.2 thousand small cattle and more than 60 thousand birds died.

Threats to agriculture are traditionally accompanied by epidemiological risks — the president instructed officials to pay special attention to the sanitary situation. In particular, Rospotrebnadzor plans to disinfect houses and yards. However, the department described the epidemiological situation in Dagestan as "stable and controlled." The relevant authorities are most concerned about the quality of drinking water after heavy rains. According to the head of the department, Anna Popova, there is still enough clean drinking water in Dagestan, but Rospotrebnadzor is still closely monitoring the prices of bottled products.

— The main risk in this situation for the Republic of Dagestan is the risk associated with water. From the very first days, starting on Saturday, ten days earlier, we began very tight control over the quality and safety of tap water… When water supply sources overflow, when groundwater flows there, of course, the water in the water supply sources throughout the territory is not of guaranteed quality," said Anna Popova.

At the same time, it became known the day before that about 76 people had already sought medical help with symptoms of intestinal infection. According to the Minister of Health Mikhail Murashko, vaccination against infectious diseases has begun in the republic.

What complicates the elimination of the consequences of the disaster

The President instructed to provide all necessary support to victims of floods in Dagestan — the government of the region has already allocated 100 million rubles to settlements. After assessing the damage, the Ministry of Finance will promptly provide financial support to the republic. However, not everyone can count on such help. Those who lived in houses illegally built in the nature protection zones of Dagestan will not receive the full amount of state support, but charitable foundations will help them, Sergei Melikov warned. According to him, it is precisely such illegal developments that negatively affect an already difficult situation.

— Apartment buildings and individual housing structures were built on illegally allocated land plots in violation of all urban planning regulations. This development has affected the narrowing of riverbeds and drainage channels, which was largely the reason for the low throughput of large volumes of stormwater. We are working today to prevent illegal development, observing the rules of integrated development of the territory," he said.

Experts also agree with this. The main problem of severe floods in Dagestan is the massive construction of flooded areas and a poor drainage system, says Mikhail Bolgov, a hydrologist at the Institute of Water Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences, a specialist in floods and the use of water resources. He explained that the building prevents the flow of water freely, thereby expanding the flood zone.

"A significant part of the damage occurred due to the fact that urban planning leaves much to be desired," he told Izvestia.

Sergey Bednaruk, director of the Center for the Russian Register of Hydraulic Structures and the State Water Cadastre, told Izvestia that contractors are starting construction near the water "because of their commercialism." The infrastructure is most developed precisely at riverbeds: it is easier to lay communications, lighter soils can be used, he explained. There may be new damage, especially in Makhachkala, where the groundwater level is very high, Bolgov noted.

Residents of the republic are already being warned about new heavy rains, strong winds up to 22-27 m/s, and rising water levels in rivers. Another "riot" of the elements in Dagestan is predicted from April 8 to April 12, the press service of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the region reported. According to the Hydrometeorological Center of Russia, heavy rains in the North Caucasus will take place in the Stavropol Territory, Karachay-Cherkessia, Kabardino-Balkaria, Ingushetia and Chechnya in the coming days. However, according to Alexander Shuvalov, head of the Meteo forecasting center, the impact of the Caspian cyclone, which brought heavy rains to Dagestan, is still weakening.

— The dry and sunny weather will come there soon, there will be time to put everything in order after the cataclysm. Precipitation may still fall in some cities and districts, but not in such quantities," he told Izvestia.

Tatiana Pozdnyakova, a leading specialist at the Meteonosti agency, believes that the weather in Dagestan remains unpredictable. Modern science does not yet allow us to say exactly in which areas there will be more rain and in which less, the expert concluded.