Flooding in Belarus. Big water. Belarusian rivers are losing their temper. flood - fight

A picture familiar to many: a city street flooded with water, public transport has stopped because it cannot swim. The gentlemen of the passengers are asked to leave the cabin, relying on the fact that they know how to swim. Those do not resist - nothing can be done: the elements. Do you think that the painted picture is taken from Minsk past spring and summer before last? No. From the past and the century before last! Moreover, something similar could be systematically observed throughout Belarus. Only for some the local "ocean" turned out to be too small, while for others - you could not see the shores, the real "sea of ​​Herodotus". Curiously, the fact that Belarus is not alien to the sea element is also evidenced by folklore - look how many different "tsmokaў" - dragons there are in it! And they live not only in deep caves, but also in no less mysterious and deep waters of our Lakeland.

David-Gorodok. Flood. 1930s.

For centuries, but what's there - for millennia, they spill, confidently, in a businesslike way, are located on the territory seized from people of the Dnieper, Drut, Berezina, Pina, Dvina, Pripyat, Sozh ... And now the shy Svisloch is there. Look at the photo of Minsk at the beginning of the last century - why not Venice! On the right - the city power plant, demolished today, on the site of which on the embankment in Gorky Park today there is an unfinished hotel. To the left are residential buildings. Floods happened regularly, in the spring flooded the entire densely populated lowland part, including the current Kupalovsky Park, Zybitskaya Street (in those days - Torgovaya), along which the horse-drawn tram ran and could easily get stuck in the water, like a current trolleybus. Therefore, the houses were built taking into account possible natural disasters: the first floor, intended for household needs and trade and craft activities, was made of stone, the second, residential, was made of wood.

Disna. Flood. 1931

By the way, Yanka Kupala lived in this area, and, according to his recollections, his house also periodically flooded. Moreover, the river could enter the owners without asking directly through the windows. One day, fellow writers sailed to Kupala on a boat to help save the valuable library he had collected from the water.

Real floods were noted in Minsk in 1888, in February 1903. And in February - March 1906, local newspapers wrote about the flood like this: "... unprecedented in the annals of the city of Minsk." Svisloch flooded a good half of the city: “On Zakharyevskaya Street, the water rose to 2 arshins, so that any communication between the central part of the city and Komarovka and, in general, with the river part was stopped. The governor's garden ... is all flooded with water; half of the Governor's Bridge is not yet swallowed up by the seething sea, and a mass of people gather on it, admiring the beautiful picture of the flood, but it must be assumed that by evening the bridge will be completely demolished, for the water keeps coming and coming. On the right side of Veselaja st. the majestic picture of the flood is also visible: on the one hand, Slobodka is flooded, so that only the surviving roofs of houses are visible, on the other, Koshary, and then Lyahovka. The communication of the inhabitants of Lyahovka is carried out by canoes and boats, although crossing the river by boat is extremely dangerous due to the fast current. The Tatar part of the city is completely flooded.”

Lepel. Ulla spill. Early 20th century

Yes, like any natural element, water spills frightened, but also fascinated people: look at the photographs - how many onlookers are depicted on them. And not only our own, but also strangers, and uninvited ones - as in the photo of 1917, taken in Zhodishki.

Floods remained a problem in the 1920s and 1930s. In April 1931, the natural cataclysm acquired a particularly impressive scale, when the banks of the river overflowed everywhere on the territory of Belarus. Demolished houses, bridges in Minsk, Orsha, Mozyr. The maximum rise in the Svisloch water in Minsk was 3.85 meters (on April 21, the Elvod city power plant began to flood, which quickly went out of order, the houses were left without electricity and central water supply), and the largest rise was recorded on the Western Dvina - almost 13 meters. People were sitting on the roofs, trying to escape as best they could: look at the photo taken in Disney. The economy suffered great damage. Even in official documents, the flood was characterized as "unprecedented".

Zhodishki. Ice drift on Viliya. 1917

More than once "relative" with Venice and Mogilev, where spills also shocked with their scope. Residents built houses on stilts or on very high foundations. Even the floor was laid so that, if necessary, to raise its level, for which spare boards were stored in the attics. For livestock, special scaffolds were built.

Boats became the main means of transportation during floods. They went to the grocery store, to visit, to a party. In order to “not get their feet wet”, sometimes real circus tricks were arranged - they moved along the boards laid on the roofs of buildings and fences. By the way, one of the highest, if not the highest flood in Mogilev happened in the same 1931 - the Dnieper rose by 853 centimeters.

Minsk. Zakharyevsky bridge and power plant during the flood. 1915

One of the most indomitable in the past was the Goryn River. Her tough temper was well known in David-Gorodok. And they managed to get used to it. Moreover, when the water receded, as an apology, it left behind silty deposits that enriched the soil. No wonder David-Haradok is known in Belarus as a place where skilled gardeners and flower growers live. In the 19th century, a pier operated here, ships and rafts were loaded. Her older sister Pripyat was in full competition with Gorynya. On the photo taken in Mozyr, the picture came out fantastic - a sort of our small Tower Bridge with two towers!

In general, Polissya is a separate song. No, oratorio. Symphony! Pinsk, Mozyr, Petrikov, Turov... Wherever you look, there is big water all around. Well, or what is left of it is swamps.

Mogilev. Flood. 1908

Herodotus, the father of history, wrote about the existence of an overflowing sea on the Belarusian lands 2,500 years ago. We believe that this ancient historian, in search of the wonderful country of Hyperborea, reached our penates. And I saw here a huge, not that sea, not that lake, and people who came out of the sea - neurons who knew how to miraculously appear and disappear. It happened in the south, in the region of modern Polissya. The existence of the “sea of ​​Herodotus”, where the Yaselda, Narev and Lesnaya flowed, was in some way confirmed by the maps of a later period, already AD. A large reservoir (on the territory of the modern Brest region) called the Sarmatian (probably derived from the common, late antique name of Eastern Europe - Sarmatia) sea, lake-lago, is depicted on the maps of the 16th century - S. Munster, J. Gastaldi, K. Vopel, G. Mercator ... It is very interesting to consider them. So, at Munster we find Sarmatis sea, at Lafreri - Salmatia lago. But there is also Sarmatica palus (swamp). This means that the process of drying up and swamping of the former "sea of ​​Herodotus" took on a pronounced character. And on the Radziwill map of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1613, only a stretched horseshoe-shaped swamp remained from Lake Sarmat.

Mozyr. The flood of Pripyat. 1918

The engraving of Littaw from the “World Chronicle” by G. Schedel of the 15th century is very intriguing. It depicts islands with fortresses, between which ships sail. It is believed that the drawing geographically reflects the central and western parts of Belarus, since, as the researchers write, the text refers specifically to Belarusian settlements. Thus, annalistic Lithuania was presented to Western Europeans as a country on the shores of the Sarmatian Sea-Lake.

The medieval cartographer Gerard Mercator (1512 - 1594) prepared an atlas of maps for publication, among which there is a map of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania - some enthusiasts call it the first map of Belarus. Grodno, Novogrudok, Slonim, Pinsk, Orsha, Borisov, Slutsk are marked on it... Minsk stands on the Svisloch. And the Sarmatian lake-sea! "Sea of ​​Herodotus" and Svisloch on one hand-drawn map!

Pinsk. Pina spill. 1917

“The country of waters and fogs” is another ancient definition of the Pinsk Polissya: the saying is attributed not to anyone, but to the Persian king of the 5th-6th centuries BC. Darius I Hystaspes. It is hard to imagine how Darius learned about our waters and mists. But again we say: so be it!

Rogachev. The flood of the Dnieper. Early 20th century

An interactive map has been developed to inform the population during floods and floods. The data is updated daily. Deputy Prime Minister Anatoly Kalinin announced this on March 15 before a meeting of the Commission for Emergency Situations under the Council of Ministers.

“The first issue considered by the commission is related to the flood situation. Today we predict that in the period from March 15 to March 25 there will be active melting, respectively, and the movement of water in the rivers, there will be flooding. According to forecasts, about 140 settlements will be subject to minor flooding. If we talk about houses, then it is more than 6 thousand. These may be basements, somewhere courtyards, but, in our opinion, there will be no such threats with high water levels, where emergency measures will have to be taken,” the Deputy Prime Minister said. - 6 thousand houses - this is a forecast. We plan for it to be a much lower number. And flooding can be different: water may appear in the yard or near the household, and this does not mean at all that some difficulties will arise, there may be certain inconveniences, but we have all the protective and preventive measures in place.”

Relevant services are ready, emergency supplies are prepared, places for evacuation, if necessary, as well as the delivery of products, the Deputy Prime Minister said. “The algorithm is written for each department, each government agency - how to act in this situation. Local authorities are already working on the preventive part, - said Anatoly Kalinin. “I believe that we will pass the flood period calmly, and if any situations arise, the local authorities and the Ministry of Emergency Situations will cope with them.”

According to the most negative scenario this year, taking into account the current hydrometeorological situation and the course of the flood, as well as the possible complication of the flood situation, flooding is most likely in 43 regions of the country, they will not be of a global nature. In the Brest region, these are Luninets, Pinsk, Stolin districts. In Vitebsk - Beshenkovichi, Verkhnedvinsk, Gorodok, Lioznensky, Miory, Orsha and Senno. Gomel region: Braginsky, Vetkovsky, Gomel, Dobrushsky, Zhitkovichsky, Zhlobinsky, Kalinkovichsky, Kormyansky, Lelchitsky, Loevsky, Mozyrsky, Narovlyansky, Petrikovsky, Rechitsky, Rogachevsky, Chechersky districts. Grodno region: Berestovitsky, Novogrudok, Slonim and Smorgon. Minsk region: Borisovsky, Pukhovichsky, Stolbtsovsky. Mogilev Region: Bobruisk, Klimovichi, Kostyukovichi, Mogilev, Mstislavsky, Slavgorodsky, Chaussky, Cherikovsky, Khotimsky and Shklovsky districts.

A difficult situation is expected in the Gomel region, where the majority of floods will be from large rivers, as well as in the Mogilev region, where floods will be observed mainly from small rivers.

In connection with winter floods, cases of flooding were recorded in the Vitebsk, Minsk, Mogilev and Gomel regions. Today, one section of the Luchitsy-Khvoynya highway in the Petrikovsky district of the Gomel region from the Ptich River remains flooded.

The emergency management bodies, the forces and means of the State System for the Prevention and Elimination of Emergency Situations are in constant readiness mode, 16 consolidated detachments have been formed with a six-hour readiness to arrive anywhere in the country. To carry out the necessary measures to open the rivers from ice, three groups of the explosive service of the Ministry of Emergency Situations are on standby in their places of deployment. If necessary, explosives of the Ministry of Defense will be involved - eight groups.

Work is being carried out in a timely manner to inform the population with the holding of rural gatherings, explaining the possible consequences of the spring flood and the necessary actions of the population based on the current situation.

To inform the population during floods and floods about the current situation with flooding from rivers, as well as predicted flooding, a developed interactive map is used, which is available on the websites of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, BelTA and the Belarusian Red Cross Society, as well as in the mobile application of the Ministry of Emergency Situations "Help is nearby". The map is provided with a reminder for the population during floods and floods. Map data is updated daily.

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Spring warmth comes to Belarus slowly, but the rivers are already overflowing their banks. This year, an active flood is expected, which has not happened for several years.

Photo minobl.mchs.gov.by

“This is due to the significant amount of precipitation that fell in the autumn-winter period of 2017, - told website Head of Hydrological Forecasting Department, Belhydromet Elena Zubchenko.- The maximum water levels of the spring flood on most rivers will be close to the average long-term values, and on the rivers of the Pripyat basin and in the lower reaches of the Dnieper, the maximum water levels will exceed the average long-term values.

Spring processes on the rivers begin with the opening, which spreads across the territory of Belarus from the south, southwest to north, northeast and occurs from late March to early April. During the opening period, ice jams are possible, which cause sharp rises in water levels.

The opening of the rivers of the Neman, Viliya, Western Bug and Pripyat basins this year came somewhat earlier than usual. The opening of the rivers of the Western Dvina, Dnieper, Berezina and Sozh basins is expected in late March - early April. At present, ice formation is observed here, but there are already polynyas, and the ice itself has darkened.

“There is water everywhere on the ice, which is extremely dangerous to enter,”- said Elena Zubchenok.

Hope for frost

As of March 19, fluctuations in the water level with an intensity of 1-30 cm per day are observed in the rivers of the country.

On the Pripyat near the village of Chernichi, the water level exceeds a dangerous high mark by 6 cm. In some sections of the rivers, the water levels exceed the water outlet marks on the floodplain: on the Pripyat near Petrikov - by 13 cm, on the Neman near Stolbtsy - by 9 cm

Near the village of Lenin (Zhitkovichi district) on the Sluch river, a tributary of the Pripyat, the water is approaching a dangerous high. Only two centimeters left before the threat of flooding.

“Our situation is even better than in winter,- said website Chairman of the Leninsky rural executive committee Vasily Nemchenya. - I mean there is less water now. And we have high hopes for the cold. This night in Lenin it was 12 degrees of frost, now it is also minus temperature. Yesterday I toured the territory of the village council - vegetable gardens, which are usually heated, in the ice. It will melt, it will finally become clear what and how.

In Lenin, they are ready for any development of the situation, says Vasily Nemchenya, but they hope that the flood will be calm, as in previous years: “We haven’t evacuated people for twenty years now, and I hope we won’t have to this time either.”

“You have to be patient for a week or two, and then everything will be fine”

As a result of the flooding of the Neman, 27 farmsteads in the village of Novy Sverzhen, Stolbtsy district and nine in Stolbtsy were flooded.

The evacuation of residents is not required, but the commission under the Stolbtsovsky District Executive Committee has already identified places for temporary accommodation of people, who are definitely responsible for issuing bed linen, food, bottled water and medicines.

Since yesterday, posts of the Ministry of Emergency Situations have been installed on the streets that can be flooded, said Naviny. by Chairman of the Novosverzhensky rural executive committee Anatoly Bogdan.

According to him, in past years, employees of the Ministry of Emergency Situations and high rubber boots handed out, and they took them home on boats. Right now we are just watching the water.

"In 2010we havethere was a lot of flooding Bogdan said. - The water rose so high that it flooded both gardens and houses, but people did not leave them, although they were offered evacuation. They agreed to take the living creatures out. This is what they did - right in the hands of animal rescuers carried out. The last major flood was in 2013. Later, there were no such large floods.”

The attitude of local residents to big water in spring is philosophical, everyone understands that “You have to be patient for a week or two, and then everything will be fine”, Anatoly Bogdan said.

In his opinion, in order to completely solve the problem of flooding of houses adjacent to the Neman, "necessary to take a set of measures":

“It is impossible to build some structures in Novy Sverzhen without creating problems in other settlements. For example, if we put a dam in our area, Stolbtsy will begin to flood. There are different opinions about this. Someone says that protective structures are a very expensive pleasure, and someone suggests digging a new channel for the Neman. However, this is a natural object, the river flows where it is supposed to.”

Photo minobl.mchs.gov.by

Photo minobl.mchs.gov.by

One way or another, in Novy Sverzhen it is not ruled out that this year there will be big water, as it happens once every 8-10 years.

“We have been working since autumn, recommending voluntary insurance for housing and outbuildings. And people are insured. I can give an example - a strong wind knocked down a new fence in one house. And the insurance paid out allowed me to pay for the new fence,” Anatoly Bogdan said.

Flood threatens 43 districts

Spring flood this year threatens 43 regions of Belarus. This was announced at a recent meeting of the Commission for Emergency Situations under the Council of Ministers.

Forecast made “according to the most negative scenario, taking into account the current hydrometeorological situation and the course of the flood, as well as the possible complication of the flood situation”, press service of the Ministry of Emergency Situations . At the same time, it is stated that flooding will not be of a global nature.

The most difficult situation is expected in the Gomel and Mogilev regions.

16 consolidated detachments have already been formed, which are ready to arrive anywhere in the country within six hours. Three groups of the explosive service of the Ministry of Emergency Situations are in readiness at their places of deployment to carry out measures to open rivers. If necessary, explosives from the Ministry of Defense will be involved.

The situation is changing every day. So far, the cooling of the air has somewhat softened the development of spring processes on the rivers.

“Until the end of March, the hydrological situation will not pose a danger. But in the future, the development of floods will depend on weather conditions and precipitation."- said Elena Zubchenok.

flood records

Over the past ten years, there have been high floods in 2010, 2012 and 2013.

One of the largest floods in history occurred in 2013, when in Belarus, as a result of rising water levels in 35 rivers and melting snow, more than 700 residential buildings, about seven thousand farmsteads, about eight thousand outbuildings, about three thousand country houses, more hundreds of road sections and four road bridges.

That year even Gomel was flooded - in the regional center they were in the water.

Traditionally, the Pripyat remains the most overflowing river in Belarus.

One of the largest floods in Belarus happened in 1999 in Polesye, when more than seven thousand residential buildings were flooded, and the damage was estimated at about $100 million. Such damage became an impetus for a number of measures - fences and dams were built.

Experts say that if anti-flood measures had not been taken, not only Polesye, Minsk would have been noticeably flooded until now.

Svisloch flooded the city more than once in the last century. One of the most severe floods occurred in 1931 - the maximum rise in water in Minsk was 385 cm, and in the lower reaches of the Svisloch in the Osipovichi region - 535 cm.

That year, a lot of water came to all of Belarus, for example, the rise of water in the Western Dvina was almost 13 meters.

Hydrologists and rescuers of the country do not rule out a recurrence of the flood of 1999 this spring.

It is enough to look out the window - and everything will become clear: this winter it has piled up snow, like in the previous three. Now everything depends only on the weather: if spring comes to us slowly, we will get off with relatively little water. If the thermometers quickly "jump" up, boats and rubber boots are certainly indispensable. Moreover, the sad scenario of the problematic flood of 1999 may be repeated on a new round. "R" figured out what to expect for the Belarusians in the worst case scenario.

Pros and cons

Hydrologists do not hide the seriousness of the situation and point to a number of obvious prerequisites. Snow reserves in the republic are one and a half to two times higher than usual (from 40 to 120 mm). The thickness of ice on rivers and reservoirs also exceeds the long-term average values ​​by 1-13 cm. At the same time, the increased water content of the rivers was noted by experts in the fall: heavy rains affected. In early March, the situation did not improve either on the Dnieper, or on the Pripyat, or on the Sozh, or on the Berezina.

- Primary spring processes have already begun. On the rivers, there is an increase in water levels with a daily intensity of 1-39 cm. On the Dnieper in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bLoev, Pripyat near the village of Chernichi, as well as on the rivers Narew, Svisloch, Sluch, Styr and Ptich, the water is still frozen on the floodplain. At the same time, she entered the floodplain areas on the Neman near the village of Belitsa, Viliya near the village of Steshitsy, Berezina near Svetlogorsk and Sozh near Slavgorod- said "R" Marina Nagibina, Head of the Department of Hydrological Forecasts of the Republican Hydrometeorological Center. - Thus, we expect the beginning of the flood at the usual time - somewhere in the second decade of March. On most rivers, the maximum levels are expected to be within the average long-term values ​​and higher. During the melting of snow on most rivers, the water will come out on the floodplain.

If spring comes to Belarus according to the "quick" scenario and, in addition, is complicated by precipitation, a repetition of 1999 cannot be avoided. Inevitably, agricultural lands of floodplain sections of rivers and individual buildings in coastal areas will be flooded. There is a high probability of flooding of economic facilities and private houses in the basins of the Neman, Dnieper, Berezina, Sozh, Pripyat and Western Dvina. If the ice cover is destroyed, ice jams will be observed in narrow sections of river channels and in the area of ​​bridges, due to which the spill width will increase and cause additional flooding of the territories. That is the forecast.

Flood on a leash?

The country's rescuers never wait for the ice to break, and act ahead of the curve. A few weeks ago, preliminary data from hydrologists were entered into the Overcalk software package - and a cartographic model of the spring flood was obtained. Everything is visible on it: the main and secondary rivers, the minimums and maximums of their possible floods, villages, towns and cities that stand in the way of high water.

- According to our calculations, 77 settlements, about 2,000 residential buildings and 9 road sections may be in the flood zone from river flooding this spring. First of all, we are talking about the Luninets, Stolin and Pinsk districts of the Brest region, Verkhnedvinsk - Vitebsk, Slavgorod and Chaussky - Mogilev. And also Dobrush, Zhitkovichi, Lelchitsy, Loevsky, Mozyr, Petrikovsky - Gomel region. According to preliminary data, almost 55 thousand people live in flooded settlements. Evacuation may affect 3,900 local residents, paints the whole picture Alexey Vorobyov, Head of the Republican Center for Emergency Management and Response of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Belarus. - Together with the regional and district executive committees, places for temporary resettlement of people have been agreed: these are schools, boarding schools, camp sites, hotels and social shelters. Equipment and responsible services have long been ready to meet the spring flood: excavators, bulldozers, heavy dump trucks, boats, boats have been registered ... In the most threatened areas, supplies of drinking water, food and medicine are being created. We are preparing for the worst-case scenario and above average multi-year water levels.

The fact that this time it will not be easy to keep the flood on a leash is evidenced by many facts. As soon as the snow melts, full-scale exercises will be held in each of the regions of the country, the purpose of which is to work out the procedure during the spring flood. The order of interaction of local authorities with the explosive services of the Ministry of Defense, ROSN and the Ministry of Internal Affairs has been agreed. The patrol route of Bellesavia planes and helicopters of the Ministry of Emergency Situations has been specified: more than 10 boards every day will transmit photo and video materials on the state of affairs in the floodplains of the main rivers to the ground. In addition, an employee of the Ministry of Emergency Situations will be assigned to each hydropost of the republic this spring. The situation is binding.

Will Goryn show his temper?

In the Stolin region, the last few days there has been only talk about the threat of flooding. Here, on the southernmost border with Ukraine, the flood comes much earlier than in other regions of the country. Every schoolchild knows: Horyn will open up, the snow will melt - and only 5-7 days will remain in reserve. Then comes the water...

- Horyn, Sluch, Lva, Stviga and other rivers of the Pripyat basin originate in the Volyn Upland (territory of Ukraine). And there is snow now in the belt. However, other hydrological indicators of this spring do not give cause for reassurance: perhaps, over the past 10 years, the situation is so alarming, - considers Ilya Lozeiko, Chief Specialist for the State Emergency Service and Civil Defense of the Stolin District Executive Committee. The flood does not come in one day. About the fact that there is water, we will know somewhere in a week. Close contacts have been established with colleagues from the border regions of Ukraine, information about changes in levels is received every day. Rubber boots, kerosene lamps are already being sold in the district's trading network, a stock of food and bottled water has been created. Goryn is a wayward river…

These days, all services of the district operate in high voltage mode. The Emergency Commission formed a headquarters and approved an action plan to reduce the level of possible damage. The insurance of property and buildings is in full swing, the reliability of pumping stations and shut-off equipment is being checked, 2 consolidated detachments of equipment have been formed. But experts are concerned about only one question ...

- How will the dams behave? Even scientists cannot say for sure. After the infamous flood of 1999, when Pripyat flooded about 30 settlements of the region, it was decided at the government level to build a whole system of dams. Today, the entire right bank of the Horyn from the border with Ukraine is fortified, but the left side of the river is not. At a mark of 555 cm, water from Goryn over the Khotomel bypass overflows into Lva and Stviga. And then she has no barriers, alas, no, - states Vyacheslav Ovsyanik, head of the Stolin regional department for emergencies. - According to our estimates, with the worst development of the situation, from 8 to 12 villages fall into the flood zone. Places of temporary residence have already been found for 1333 local residents. Among the 100% evicted are 13 houses in the village of Korobye. It is located just 200-300 meters from Pripyat and is flooded from year to year. This spring, it may be completely cut off from the nearest settlements.

Beavers have been a longstanding problem here. It is they, no matter how surprising it may sound, that today pose the greatest danger to the hydrotechnical structures of the region. There is no industrial shooting, the population has grown several times in recent years - hence the system of labyrinth passages in the body of dams. It is sometimes simply impossible to see the "wells" with the naked eye, but the consequences can be simply terrible ... Therefore, as soon as the snow melts, special patrols from among the farm workers will begin nightly rounds. It is at night, knowledgeable people say, that the murmur of water can be heard from 10-20 meters away. Up to 50 km of dams are to be examined in this way (their total length in the region is 400 km). At the same time, soil reserves and sack bags are being created in especially dangerous areas. There are only a few days left until H-time.

Call "R"

In the Petrikovsky district, the Pripyat floodplain narrows, creating the danger of congestion and a rapid outflow of water to nearby settlements. We call there.

- Indeed, such a threat exists. In 1979, during a severe flood, an ice jam formed on the bend of the river - the neighboring village of Moiseevichi was flooded up to the windows ... This spring, if necessary, we plan to involve explosive experts from the Gomel PASO, - said Alexander Chernetsky, head of the Petrikovsky ROChS. - If in general, the situation is not simple: 15 settlements along the Pripyat are threatened with flooding, two more (Mordvin and Snyadin) can be cut off by water. Each of these villages was previously visited by our officers: responsible persons were appointed, 132 people were to be evacuated. A stock of sand, crushed stone, lumber and fuels and lubricants has been created. 15 motor boats are ready to help local residents at any time.

It is a fact

This spring, meltwater flooding of the following cities is possible: Gomel, Dobrush, Verkhnedvinsk, Pinsk, Turov.

July rains and gale-force winds have turned things around in the country and its capital. Every year heavy rains consistently lead to flooding of streets and drowned vehicles. Many people have the opinion that it was only in modern times that Minsk began to suffer from, and this almost never happened before. Is it so? TUT.BY dug into archive messages.

1897: horse and water tram

In May 1892, a horse-drawn tram was launched in Minsk, which worked until 1928 and even existed for several years in parallel with buses. Floods in the low-lying parts of the city often occurred, and then, it happened, the horse-drawn carriage went off the flooded rails. In the BGAKFFD archive there is a photo of a horse-drawn tram in 1897 on the flooded Torgovaya Street. The car is trying to overcome the spill, and a lot of spectators have gathered around.

1906: churning sea and boat crossings

One hundred and ten years ago, in February-March 1906, city newspapers noted that the flood "has never been seen in the annals of the city of Minsk." The print media collected money for the victims and urged other media outlets to do, as they would say today, "the maximum repost." Meanwhile, the public went to admire the rampant elements. Selfies had not yet become a mass phenomenon, so pictures like “Miss H **** and I look at danger without fear” did not reach us.

“The Svisloch River overflowed even wider and flooded a good half of the city. On Zakharyevskaya Street, the water rose to 2 arshins, so that any communication between the central part of the city and Komarovka and, in general, with the river part was stopped. The governor's garden up to the building of the summer theater is completely flooded with water, and the house, located near the skating rink, is half sunk; half of the Governor's Bridge is not yet swallowed up by the seething sea, and a mass of people gather on it, admiring the beautiful picture of the flood, but it must be assumed that by evening the bridge will be completely demolished, for the water keeps coming and coming. On the right side of Veselaja st. the majestic picture of the flood is also visible: on the one hand, Slobodka is flooded, so that only the surviving roofs of the houses are visible, on the other, Koshary, and then Lyahovka. The communication of the inhabitants of Lyahovka is carried out by canoes and boats, although crossing the river by boat is extremely dangerous due to the fast current. The Tatar part of the city is completely flooded,” wrote the newspaper “Minskaya rech” in February.

1915: the toilet goes to the ram

Less than ten years later, during the next flood, photographers were already flocking to the flooding sites for spectacular shots. The Minsk Voice newspaper reported in March 1915:

“At the city power station, the floods destroyed and carried away many barrels of oil and so on. But the same restless water generously compensated the station. From one of the courtyards of Zakharyevskaya Street, a wooden closet building flew headlong with a stream of water and, having suffered an “accident” at the fence of the power plant, overturned here and lingered. This architectural structure "00" adorned the street for a long time, serving as an excellent object for Messrs. local amateur photographers and a theme for artists as an element of chaos and destruction.

1930: Cucumber barrels and a doghouse float

In April 1997, "Vecherny Minsk" cited the memoirs of the old-timer Valentina Bugaenko about the 1930 flood. Among other things, she noted that the city authorities foresaw the flood and sent commissions to the yards, urging residents to leave their homes by evening.

“The result was disastrous. At night, water suddenly gushed out. People fled through windows, escaped to attics and roofs. And in some places only skates of huts stuck out from under the water. Boards, troughs, barrels floated along the Svisloch "seas". And also animals and even people. Firefighters and the military removed the victims from the roofs and put them into boats. The water was so great that it flooded part of Frunze and Kupala streets. She cut the city in half. Foaming water ran over the bridges at high speed, and it was impossible to pass.

I saw barrels of pickles floating around the Tatar gardens. The Tatars clogged these barrels and kept them all winter in the river, in dams made of stakes, in order to sell cucumbers in the Trinity market in the spring. But suddenly they were torn off the leash, and they swayed on the waves of the Svisloch. I also saw a dog house floating on the roof of which a whining dog lay.

1931: Demolition of bridges and collapse of houses

Only a year has passed - and again the capital was flooded. And not only the capital, but the whole country in general: last winter was frosty and snowy, and in April sunny, warm weather abruptly set in. The level of the rivers began to rise from 20 April. The Elvod power plant failed, the tram stopped running, the water supply turned off, the railway tracks were washed out - and the trains to Borisov and Bobruisk were forced to return back. The messages of the Belarusian GPU stated:

“From the evening of April 21, residents of neighborhoods that were directly threatened by flooding were asked to evacuate, but part of the population, assuming that the water would not reach apartments that were relatively more remote, refused to move to safe places. On the night of April 22, the water in the river arrived so quickly that residents of the surrounding neighborhoods woke up in the middle of the night from the knock of firefighters on duty in half-flooded apartments (Lyakhovka, Nizhny Market, Sadovo-Embankment). By morning, the population of these quarters found themselves in houses half-flooded with water, and, climbing onto the roofs of houses, people shouted, hung out flags, calling for help. By one o'clock on April 22, the water level, according to the All-Belarusian Hydrometeorological Institute, reached 380 cm above the average summer level.

Rivers burst their banks across the country. Floods demolished bridges in Minsk (along Proletarskaya and Bakunin streets and in the Lower Bazaar), Mozyr, Orsha. In the village of Bantserovshchina, a mill was washed away, which was miraculously caught downstream until it demolished several bridges. In Borisov, two houses were demolished by water, in Minsk - a house in Serebryanka and along Kommunalnaya Street (a three-story brick one). The maximum rise in the Svisloch water in Minsk was 3.85 m, near Osipovichi - 5.35 m, and the largest rise was recorded on the Western Dvina: almost 13 meters. By the end of April, the flood subsided.

One of the frequent spills of Svisloch in the area of ​​the former Lodochnaya Street. The buildings of the Kristall plant are visible across the river. Photo from the archive of Lyudmila Bylino.

1945: flood - fight!

In mid-March 1945, the Minsk city executive committee began to prepare for the expected flood. The newspaper "Sovetskaya Belorussiya" published an article "To combat the flood", where it called on the inhabitants of the city to take their livestock to safe areas, and placed special responsibility on the heads of enterprises and institutions.

“The experience of past years has shown that the city of Minsk during the spring flood is subject to annual flooding and brings a lot of destruction and losses to the city economy and population. Particularly affected by floods are Torgovaya, Lodochnaya, Pulikhov streets, areas of MGS No. 1, Proletarskaya street and the Bervensky mill area.

Possible casualties, destruction and losses can be completely avoided if timely preparations are made to combat the flood, if the population of the city takes an active part in this great cause. Every citizen living in the area of ​​flooding must take care in advance about the safety of their property (bringing livestock to safe areas, etc.).

A special responsibility lies with the heads of enterprises and institutions, who are obliged to organize teams to combat the spring flood. At enterprises and institutions it is necessary to organize special teams of experienced flood-fighting comrades, to arrange dams, fences, and crossings in advance. It is necessary that at each enterprise the necessary equipment be prepared, such as: ice picks, crowbars, hooks, shovels, ropes and other tools necessary for the fastest passage of ice.

But, judging by some reports, the flood was not as devastating as expected.

1967: City Day flood

The Belarusian capital celebrates its 900th anniversary on May 28, 1967. Forecasters promised: “Today, May 28, low cloud cover is expected in Minsk, northeast wind, moderate to strong. The air temperature is 11-15 degrees. Showers are expected in the afternoon, a thunderstorm is possible. Downpours are really pouring over Minsk. Footage of the flood on Yakub Kolas Square was included in Nikita Khubov's film "Celebration Album", dedicated to the celebration of the city's anniversary.

One of the readers recalled a similar flood: “After one of these showers in the mid-70s, the underground passage on Yakub Kolas Square was flooded. So, very quickly, storm sewers appeared on the square along all the curbs, and there were no more floods. But in the 90s and early 2000s, during the repair of the avenue, 80% of these drains were again rolled into asphalt.”

1977: passengers in the water

Ten years later, on July 8, 1977, Minsk experienced another heavy downpour - probably it was our reader who mentioned it when talking about underground passages. "Floated" and buses on Partizansky Prospekt, and trams on Yakub Kolas. Someone carries his shoes in his hands, and someone carries his companion.

From time to time, flooding of the streets of Minsk occurred in subsequent years. The workers of the motorbike plant recall the flood around 1986: then buses and trolleybuses from the side of the station reached only the Kommunarka factory, and then there was water everywhere - both on the streets and on the factory territory.