With thousands already affected, flooding in Russia’s Far East is expected to reach its peak next week as emergency workers and local residents step up efforts to tackle the disaster.
With thousands already affected, flooding in Russia’s Far East is
expected to reach its peak next week as emergency workers and
local residents step up efforts to tackle the disaster.
The Amur River has burst its banks due to heavy rains, submerging
over one million square kilometers of land in one of the largest
floods ever to be seen in the country’s Far East.
Over 28,500 have been affected by the flooding which has struck
the Amur Region, the Jewish Autonomous Region, and the Khabarovsk
Region, according to the Emergencies Ministry.
A state of emergency has been declared in the three most heavily
affected areas: the Jewish Autonomous Region, the Republic of
Yakutia, and the Amur Region.
Emergency workers have already evacuated over 13,000 people from
flooded areas. However, many residents are determined to stay in
their homes, refusing to abandon their property and belongings.
“Obviously, it’s hard to part with your home and cattle, but it’s
the human life which should remain a priority,” Oleg
Kozhemyako, governor of the Amur Region, said.
"Force evacuation" will take place on Bolshoy Ussuriysky
Island in the city of Khabarovsk if the “situation keeps
deteriorating,” deputy head of the Khabarovsk Region, Andrey
Volokzhanin, said, as quoted by RIA Novosti. Forty-five people
permanently reside on the island.
There is concern that a heat power plant in Khabarovsk will be
submerged. There have also been reports of the flooding of
cattle mortuaries which contain deceased livestock infected with
anthrax and foot-and-mouth disease, with many believing that
people’s health could be seriously at risk.
With the water level in the Amur River expected to reach an
all-time record height of seven meters next week, authorities are
quickly constructing sand dams. The local population is assisting
emergency services and military troops in every way possible.
Cutting edge anti-flood technologies are also being used. Thirty
water-filled flood control dams have been delivered to the region
along with humanitarian aid. Each dam is 25 meters long and can
be easily erected on any type of surface, replacing over 1,000
sand bags.
Russian Emergencies Minister Vladimir Puchkov and Health Minister
Veronika Skvortsova have arrived in the Far East to examine the
situation.
The Russian Defense Ministry and Emergencies Ministry have
increased military presence in the affected regions, with 4,500
thousand servicemen, 630 military vehicles, and 40 planes and
helicopters tackling the situation.
The army is currently setting up field camps capable to
accommodate 4,000 additional soldiers.
The Federal Medical and Biological Agency delivered by plane
around 7,000 doses of the typhoid fever vaccine, 7,000 doses of
the hepatitis B vaccine, and around 18,000 doses of a vaccine
against dysentery.
So far, there have been no cases of intestinal infection in the
affected regions, Health Minister Skvortsova stressed.
“In the framework of planned activities, we vaccinate those
people who are in the risk group,” she explained.
Emergencies Minister Puchkov also suggested postponing the start
of the school year in the Amur Region, from September 1 to
September 10-15. Many of the local schools are currently being
used as temporary accommodation centers for evacuated residents.
On Thursday, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev ordered the
allocation of 3.2 billion rubles to the affected regions, with
local authorities estimating the damage at 3.2 billion rubles
(around US$91 million).
But the struggle is far from over in the Far East. The flooding
is forecasted to peak by the end of the week as more water is
expected to come from neighboring China, due to a cyclone forming
over the Pacific Ocean.