High water emergency situation regime introduced in Russia

Emergency situation regime has been introduced due to high water in Tatarstan’s three regions, thus the number of affected regions in the Voronezh, Saratov regions and in Tatarstan has reached 10, EMERCOM reported on Monday. Over the past day, the situation stabilised in two villages in Tatarstan and the Penza region, where the water left four houses and 57 yards. “In the Volga and Central federal districts in 14 settlements, in the water remain 200 houses, where 405 people live, including 27 children, and 426 yards,” the ministry reported. All the affected houses are in the Volga region. Besides, in 11 regions, 102 low areas and four passages of highways remain under water. The ministry reports about rescue operations in the regions. The high water has been caused by the past winter with very much snow. In many regions the share of water in the snow is about twice the norm. The active spring caused rapid melting, as in some places all the snow disappeared in just one day. At the same time, in Russia’s most regions, where the winter was very snowy, too, the period of high water has not begun yet. In late March, EMERCOM forecasted emergency situations due to high water in Russia’s almost 20 regions, including the Far East, Siberia, the Volga region and the north-western part. The highest risk is forecasted in Yakutia, in the Khabarovsk, Maritime territories, in the central and southern parts in the Krasnoyarsk territory, in Altai, the Novosibirsk and Irkutsk regions, in Orenburg, Samara, Saratov, Penza, Nizhny Novgorod, Arkhangelsk, Vologda regions, and in Tatarstan, Mordovia and Bashkiria.