Natural disaster in Altai (new destruction). The story of one Altai flood

I described the first information about the flood in my previous post.

The second day of the flood brought further destruction. New pictures began to appear on the network, on the basis of which this post was compiled. I would like to note right away that the photographs presented have already been copied several times, which makes it very difficult to determine the authorship. All photographs with a watermark belong to the person credited to them, and all unsigned photographs belong to the authors who took them.
There was news in Vesti that the water level in the Altai rivers increased by 30 cm, which caused flooding. The entire Internet copied and replicated this. Of course, this is nonsense. According to yesterday's estimates, the water level in the rivers increased by 300 cm, and today it has exceeded 3.5 meters.

The photo shows one of the central streets of the city of Gorno-Altaisk, st. Grigory Choros-Gurkin and National Museum Republic of Altai named after. A.V.Anokhina.

Flooded city street.

The bridge in Elekmonar, built in 1986-1987, before the flood.

The bridge in Elekmonar now.

Chuisky tract outside the village of Cherga. Do you see the river on the right? But he is there! Sema is a small river that runs between the mountain and the road.


Destructive Sema today.

The federal highway M-52 "Chuysky Trakt" is blocked. In several areas the road is flooded or destroyed, as in this photo taken in Cherga. Sema River.

Sema upstream, towards the regional center of Shebalino.

This is an old pedestrian bridge near the village of Askat. The photo was taken at the end of April. Katun is clean, quiet, calm. Its riverbed is half empty.

Boiled Katun on May 30.

Royal hunt... Where is the bridge?!!!

A month ago I was walking around its support. Was it possible to imagine that water would reach a bridge suspended so high?! This was the longest suspension bridge on the Katun and the only walking route for mass tourists to the Kamyshlinsky waterfall. It's a damn shame about the building.

Chemalskaya hydroelectric power station. Let me remind you again how it looked at the beginning of May: link to the spherical panorama.

Souvenir stalls near the hydroelectric dam.

The Chemal Highway bridge over the Chemal River was washed up against a hydroelectric dam.

The water flows through the dam.
Despite the rumors, the dam (pah-pah-pah) is holding. I admire the art and skill of the engineers and builders who built this dam almost 90 years ago. What a margin of safety is built into it, that the water rushes over the top, uprooting all the trees in the area, but the dam stands, and at the same time holds a huge mass of trees from the upper reaches of the river that have been nailed to it, and even bridges torn down upstream!

At least 12 bridges were damaged or completely destroyed.

Illustration of the dynamics of the May 30 flood.

Water in the city.

Some villages are so flooded that all residents have been evacuated.

Road to Turquoise Katun.

Stream along the road.

On boats around the city. Gorno-Altaisk.

The photo was taken from the Chuysky tract.

The bridge over the Katun near the village of Inya was destroyed.

Tourists planning to walk the Inya-Tyungur trail will have to cancel the route. Those who are now walking the Tyungur-Inya path will be quite surprised and puzzled. The only way to reach the village of Inya is now through a pass, which is clearly not included in the groups’ plan. For residents of the village of Inegen, this bridge was the main and closest path to civilization.

Another destroyed bridge.

Water in an educational institution.

Chuisky tract and the Maima river.

Damaged bridge in Gorno-Altaisk.

Urban transport during a natural disaster.

Flow through the city streets.

Trouble in every home. Flooded Gorno-Altaisk.

Incredible rescue.

Even from these photographs it is clear that the damage from the flood will be enormous, and meanwhile weather forecasters are predicting worsening weather, and more rain. Most of the shots were taken, roughly speaking, from one road, but both the mountainous and flat parts of the region, both Altai, are drowning. Information is coming in about the flooded Charyshsky and Sentelek, Biysk is floating, they say that high water is approaching Barnaul, which means our coastal villages are already preparing their oars. In popular areas, preparations for the tourist season were in vain for many: something was spoiled, something was destroyed, and this was on the eve of the season. But summer tourism feeds some families of Gorny-Altai all year round.

We hope for a speedy end to this natural anger.

Video from Gorno-Altaisk:

In the Altai Republic, due to heavy rains, there was a significant increase in water levels in the rivers Elekmonar, Isha, Sema, Katun, Talitsa, Charysh, Chulyshman, Bashkaus, Charakoksha, Maima, Biya, Lebed, Klyk, Tuloy, Baigol. The flood wave reached Altai Territory. The "Emergency" mode has been in effect for more than 24 hours. municipalities- Biysk, Biysky, Soltonsky, Krasnogorsky, Krasnoshchekovsky, Soloneshensky and Charyshsky districts.

The water level in the rivers has already risen by more than 3.5 m and continues to rise. Roads and residential areas were flooded, at least 12 bridges were damaged and destroyed, and a power line support collapsed in Kemchik, Chemal region.

Destroyed suspension bridge on the Chemal River (Photo: Ambrose Bentsa)

The waters of the Chemal River flow through the Chemal Highway.

Chemalsky tract. (Photo: Svetlana Shupenko)

Destroyed bridge on the Elekmonar River.

(Photo: Elena Kozlova)

And this is in a completely different part of the Republic. Balykcha village, Ulagansky district, Chulyshman river flood. (Photo: Mikhail Katynov)

This flow through bushes and trees was filmed on the Kairu River, which flows into Chulyshman a little above the village of Balykcha.

The spilled Maima drowns Gorno-Altaisk.

(Photo: Anna Kovshar)

Flooded street in Gorno-Altaisk. (Photo: Anna Kovshar)

This is what Katun looked like in the village of Elekmonar on the May holidays.

And this is the water level in the Katun now. Pay attention to the island's trees and coastal rock outcrops.

(Photo: Svetlana Shupenko)

A popular place among tourists on the Katun is the Dragon Rocks. The spherical panorama (which you can view) was taken in early May.

Some tourists even climb to the ridge from the suspension bridge.

The rocks are barely visible above the water now. (Photo: Svetlana Shupenko)

The Chemal River washed away the road bridge across the Chemal Highway, leaving the villages of Elanda, Edigan and Kuyus without road connections. (There is another path from the Chuysky tract through the Kaspinsky and Verkh-Apshuyakhtinsky passes, but there are 13 fords on it, and it’s good for ATVs).
(Photo: Svetlana Shupenko)

The photo shows the confluence of the Chemal River (flows on the left) with the Katun, taken at the end of April. There are still ice hummocks on the shallows. Suspension bridges are thrown to and from the rocky island. The channel behind the island is dry.

The confluence of the Chemal Sea and the Katun Ocean today. (Photo: Svetlana Shupenko)

Fully opened gateways of the Chemal hydroelectric power station, end of April.

Participant of the Altai blog tour Niyaz kukmor , posing against the background of a hydroelectric power station at the end of April 2014.

End of May 2014. Water rushes through the dam of the Chemal hydroelectric station and bypasses it.

Spherical panorama of the Chemal hydroelectric power station taken from the coastal cliffs in early May. Link to panorama.

But this is the same place with the water level 3 meters higher.

In the spherical panorama, the cables of the extreme attraction "bungee" are visible above your head. In the photo below, it is not extreme sports enthusiasts, but local residents who are forced to cross the rebel river using these cables.
(Photo: Svetlana Shupenko)

The empty reservoir of the Chemal hydroelectric power station in late April.

View of the dam and the overflowing reservoir these days.

The opened gates of the hydroelectric power station and the water level a month earlier.

And once again: the photo was taken from the dam. A few meters to the water.

You can walk along the dam and take photographs, which is what Vova is doing in the photo prosto_vova and Niyaz kukmor

The photograph by Svetlana Shupenko shows how the gates of the hydroelectric power station are unable to cope, how water is gushing from all sides, how the dam itself is flooded and littered with trees washed away in the upper reaches.

The situation is difficult, but as for the hydroelectric power station, this is not the first test of this level for it, and the maximum water level is set higher. A little, but higher. And yet, on my own behalf, I really hope that the dam, which was built in the 20s of the last century, will withstand this flood.

On this moment Hundreds of families have already been evacuated from the flood zone. There is information about four dead. Forecasters promise only a worsening of the situation, at least for the next four days.
We can only hope for a speedy calm of the elements, and wish the Altai people perseverance and caution in this test.

One of the first documented floods occurred in Barnaul in the spring of 1793. Back on April 24, the frost reached -7°C and the Ob did not break free of ice. After a thaw and heavy rains, the water in Barnaulka began to rise. On May 3, she broke through the protected bank and rushed to the Hospital Line (now Krasnoarmeysky Avenue). Production at the silver smelter was stopped. The confrontation lasted about 20 days. The flood washed away 123 thousand 500 pounds of ore. The water carried away 11 thousand 701 pounds of prepared goods charcoal and destroyed 10 houses. Then the Novopavlovsk plant on Kasmal also found itself in a difficult situation.

Alexey Labanov.

The history of monitoring the water level in the Ob River in Barnaul dates back to 1893. In the 20th century, the largest floods in Altai occurred in 1920, 1928, 1937, 1954, 1958, 1969. The historical maximum water level rise was recorded in 1937. On May 16, the Ob rose 763 cm above the zero point of the water gauge. The flood developed according to the same scenario: there was more snow that year than normal, ice drift began only in early May, and during it there were heavy rains. According to eyewitnesses, the water then reached the territory where the Old Bazaar is now located.

Another major flooding in Altai occurred in 1969. The water level then fell short of the maximum by 30 cm - a rise of the Ob River in the Barnaul region to 737 cm was recorded. Then, due to the overlap of the first and second waves of the flood high water stood for quite a long time. Because of the disaster, the Chemal hydroelectric power station was seriously damaged at the same time.

Since 1985, the critical water level near Barnaul of 520 cm has been exceeded 14 times. The river drowned the villages of Zaton and Ilyich. During this period, five times the water level in the river exceeded 600 cm above the zero point of the post, leading to the flooding of a significant part of the city. The last major flood in the region was in 2010. Due to severe freezing of the soil, a snowy winter and rapid melting of snow, the Ob River in the Barnaul region rose by 643 cm. Several areas of the region were flooded. This year, in the worst case scenario, meteorologists predict a rise in water levels to 600-670 cm.

This year, water has already set records in three settlements of the region. exceeded the historical maximum on June 1. At 23.00 its level was 713 centimeters, also breaking the 2010 record (580 cm). On June 1 at 8.00 a figure of 671 cm was recorded here. The previous maximum water level rise of 136 cm was immediately surpassed. The 1991 record (271 cm) was broken on May 29-30. The water here rose to 407 cm that day.

Let us remind you that throughout the entire history of observations.

As a result of floods in the Altai Republic, according to the latest data, six people died. There are missing people. By Monday, the situation in the Altai Mountains began to improve, the water began to recede, but in the Altai Territory almost 3 thousand houses were under water. In Biysk, flooding inundated the city center.

1. In the Altai Republic, due to flooding, 230 kilometers of roads were destroyed and 1.5 km of the federal highway M-52, connecting the region with Mongolia, was washed away.

2. In addition, as a result of the disaster, 15 bridges were destroyed in the republic. Restoring the roadway will become possible as the water recedes.

3. Rescuers are in emergency mode fighting flooding in the Altai Territory. The water level in the Biya River continues to rise and has exceeded the water gauge level by more than seven meters.

4. In the Biysk flood zone, the water rose above six meters. It was established that there are 2,405 citizens in flooded areas, including 417 children. 247 people were evacuated, for the most part stayed with their relatives and friends.

5. In total, 2,988 residential buildings remain flooded in the Altai Territory, from which 7,563 people were evacuated.

6. Heavy rains caused the rivers Biya, Katun, Anui, Charysh, and Maima to overflow their banks.

7. A sharp deterioration in weather led to floods on the rivers of the Altai Territory, the Republics of Khakassia and Altai.

8. Thousands of houses are flooded in the regions, rescuers are evacuating the victims. A regime has been introduced in all three regions emergency.

9. According to the authorities of the Altai Republic, six villages in the region are currently without power, as “48 power transmission line supports were simply washed away.” Power engineers plan to return light to populated areas as the water recedes.

10. As of Monday, 60 settlements remain flooded in the region. In general, as noted today by the Ministry of Emergency Situations, the flood situation in Altai, Khakassia and Tuva has stabilized.

11. According to the latest data, six people became victims of the disaster in the Altai Territory and the Altai Republic.

If in the first hours the residents of flooded houses did their best to save their property and pets, then at the weekend it was all about health and life. The residents of Biysk refused to leave their houses until the last moment: they were afraid of looters and tried to save as many things as possible by dragging them into the attics. But the water backed up, and getting out of the water captivity became vital, reports Biysky Rabochiy.

Viktor Eremeev from old Zelenka completely refused to leave the drowned house. Thermoses with hot tea, sandwiches and pilaf, wrapped in ten plastic bags His wife brought it to him on a boat, each time persuading him to sail away with her. The water is cold, the air is too, and there is no need to say what the risk of hypothermia is.

Raisa Podvoiskaya has been regularly “swimming” in the area of ​​the first post for 30 years, but there was no thought of “capitulating,” as she herself says. To all the persuasion to leave the flooded house, Raisa Ivanovna only shakes her head, but she firmly enforces the evacuation of her goats.

Elena, a resident of the village of Malugrenevo, says that the water rushed up at an unprecedented speed. And she is at home with two children. And the attic, which at first seemed like salvation, could turn out to be a fatal trap. Call the rescuers: “Come! Take it!” the woman began when she realized that she could no longer stay in the house. But here’s the problem: walking waist-deep in icy water, especially with two children at a constantly rising river level, is mortally dangerous. Employees of the Ministry of Emergency Situations arrived by boat and helped to get out.

We received comments and reproaches for the absence of rescuers from many parts of the city: from the flax mill, from Kozhevenny Lane, from Sorokino. Someone said that there were no rescuers at all, someone complained that they were coming, but slowly. The service itself admits that there were not enough boats and wetsuits, so they turned to Biychan residents who owned watercraft for help. According to the city administration as of Sunday, 243 people, 69 pieces of equipment, including 16 watercraft, were involved in eliminating the emergency situation, of which 143 people, 11 pieces of equipment, including 9 watercraft, were from the Ministry of Emergency Situations.

BR journalists were also at the center of the events. We would like to add on our own behalf: people worked extremely hard. For three days, the faces did not change - the same rescuers worked for two or three days without sleep. It was often possible to see how people, without taking off their wetsuits, fell without strength, as soon as the boat touched the shore. Five to ten minutes to sleep here, in the boat, in cold water when there is noise, bustle and sometimes it rains. And back to work.

On the other side of the disaster, people were sitting on the roofs waiting for help, water and bread. And everyone has their own truth.
As already reported by the Amitel news agency, in Biysk 3,712 people (+150) are caught in the flood zone, of which 1,012 are children (+87), 1,784 people (+ 153) were evacuated from flooded houses, of which 229 children (+32) were resettled according to relatives and friends, 71 people were placed in temporary accommodation centers, of which 5 were children, 14 people, 7 of them with limited mobility, sought medical help followed by hospitalization.

A state of emergency has been introduced throughout the Altai Territory, but the situation in Charyshsky, Biysky, Krasnogorsky, Krasnoshchekovsky, Soloneshensky, Soltonsky districts and the science city of Biysk is under special control due to flooding of territories.

25.03.2015 13:19

The first flooding in the Altai Territory will begin in April, there is a risk of remaining flooded Largest cities region, as well as foothill areas. The water level in some rivers in a few weeks may exceed the maximum permissible levels by 0.3-0.9 m, ITAR-TASS reports citing the head of the Altai Regional Center for Hydrometeorology and Monitoring environment Alexander Luziger.

The rivers of the Altai Territory will begin to open up from ice three to six days earlier than long-term values. Ice drift is expected in early April, at which time the first wave of flooding may begin. “Flooding is possible in Biysk, Barnaul, Kamen-on-Obi, as well as in the area of ​​the Chumysh River - this year it is concentrated there greatest number water reserves in the snow cover are 201% of the norm, this is 162% of the maximum snow reserve,” the publication quotes Mr. Luziger as saying.

The next cold snap, which awaits the Altai Territory in the coming days, will weaken the rampant nature. Meanwhile, precipitation in the region is still continuing, but on March 25, instead of many days of rain, at least it snowed. “By the weekend the temperature may drop to -18-25°. This process is favorable for the flood - it will disrupt the current thaw and give a large ice crust that will collapse more slowly,” said the head of the Hydrometeorology Center.

The authorities of the Altai Territory are monitoring the situation in Biysk and Barnaul, Bystroistoksky, Krasnoshchekovsky and Charyshsky districts, which were affected in 2014. In total, about 12 thousand people could be affected by the flood in these areas. In the regional center, 10.5 million rubles were allocated to prepare for the flood; a reserve of 40 million rubles was created to eliminate and prevent potential emergencies in the city.

The head of the Barnaul administration, Igor Savintsev, noted that when the water level in the Ob is 640 centimeters above the zero of the water gauge, “big water” can come to the suburban villages of Zaton and the village of Ilyich, these are 324 houses with a population of 1,608 people. In the Bystroistoksky district, four settlements with a population of more than 5 thousand people may fall into the flood zone, in Charyshsky - five settlements with a population of 3,964 people and 58 infrastructure facilities, including eight bridges of regional importance.

At the moment, the Ministry of Emergency Situations and municipal authorities are preparing temporary accommodation centers and cleaning storm drains in cities, river beds are checked, hydraulic structures are inspected, and dams are built. As part of the command and staff exercises of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations, which are held in the Altai Territory on March 24 and 25, a high alert regime has been introduced in the region for all departments.

Let us add that already on the night of March 25 there was significant warming and precipitation in the form of rain, melted and storm water a row of houses in the Central district of Barnaul. Emergency crews spent the entire night pumping out water.