Melt waters flooded residential buildings and summer cottages

In the Novosibirsk region, a dam on the Tula River burst. Melt waters flooded the private sector and summer cottages. 70 people were evacuated, 23 residents were removed from the roofs by rescuers. The reasons for the breach of the dam, which was repaired less than a year ago, have not yet been announced.

Photo: Dmitry Brushko, Kommersant / buy photo

The dam on the Tula River in the Novosibirsk district of the Novosibirsk region burst yesterday at 21:15. The dam protects from floods the village of 8 March (part of the Verkh-Tulinsky village council), where 340 people live in 110 houses, as well as the summer cottages of several garden societies: “Sputnik”, “Rassvet”, “Gardens of Ukraine”, “Berezka”, "Sibselmash", located in the Kirov and Leninsky districts of Novosibirsk.

As the head of the regional department of civil defense and emergency situations, Daniyar Safiullin, said, one of the three flood gates at the hydraulic structure was broken by melt water. “There was a volley of water discharge, trees floated, creating a danger of damage to infrastructure,” he said. “One tree got stuck under the bridge crossing in Leninsky, the other along the heat supply line crossing the Tula River in the Kirovsky district.” As a result, the water in the river rose to 2.8 m, flooding the private sector and summer cottages within a radius of 70 m from its usual bed. Mr. Safiullin did not name the reasons for the shutter failure: “The issue is being studied by specialists.”

As Kommersant learned, the dam on the Tula River is included in the list of priorities for major repairs under the target program “Development of the water management complex of the Novosibirsk region in 2013–2018.” Whether this repair was possible is unknown: the administration of the Novosibirsk region found it difficult to provide such information to Kommersant.

According to rescuers, 66 people were evacuated from the flood zone, 36 people were rescued, 23 of them were rescued from the roofs of houses. Temporary accommodation centers were set up in the Leninsky and Kirovsky districts, where 45 people were taken at night. This morning there were 21 people in the centers.

To eliminate the consequences, the authorities turned off some of the heat and power generation facilities. In addition, the roadway of one of the roads in the Kirov region was blocked. The governor of the Novosibirsk region, Vladimir Gorodetsky, came to the site of the breakthrough. He instructed Novosibirsk services to conduct a survey of the flooded area to provide the necessary assistance to the affected residents. The administrations of the Leninsky and Kirovsky districts were instructed to analyze the hydrological as well as the engineering situation on roads and in heat, electricity and gas supply systems.

According to Daniyar Safiullin, the water levels in the river in the Leninsky and Kirovsky districts have now returned to normal. “However, it is still too early for people to return to their homes and gardens. The earth is saturated with moisture, landslides are possible,” he emphasized.

Yuri Belov, Novosibirsk

A dam burst near Novosibirsk