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Two-month norm of rains fall on Dagestan’s Derbent for 3 hours

The aftermaths of the natural disaster will have been cleaned up by Wednesday evening

MAKHACHKALA, October 10 (Itar-Tass) — Some 55 millimetres of heavy rains, which were passing from 21:20 Moscow time on Tuesday until 00:30 Moscow time on Wednesday, fell down on the Dagestani city Derbent, which was hit in a flood overnight to Wednesday. According to the federal state budget-financed agency “the Dagestani republican centre of hydrometeorology and environment monitoring”, the precipitation amounted to a two-month norm for this period of time.

The weather forecasting service issued a storm warning about heavy rains on Tuesday evening. The local authorities warned the local residents about the flood through the loud speakers installed on the minarets of the city mosques and the cars moving in the city. Meanwhile, according to updated reports, six people died in the Derbent flood, including the family of three people and a 10-month boy.

The Dagestani weathermen described to Itar-Tass the peculiarities of the location of Derbent, which is situated on the coast of the Caspian Sea and in the foothills of the Greater Caucasus Mountain range. The cold front, which passed in this geographical point, and a warm sea (22 degrees Celsius) triggered heavy rains. According to the weather monitoring, such natural phenomena are quite frequent in Derbent. For instance, on July 12, 1999, 110 millimetres of rains have fallen in the city for five hours that made a 7-month norm of precipitation. On September 21, 2009, 199 millimetres of rains hit the city that made a four-month norm for this season. Heavy rains of 26 millimetres passed in Derbent on October 6-7, 2012. The ground in the upper part of the city was already dampened that triggered a massive landslide amid the Tuesday flood.

The city authorities and the republican emergency situation forces pledged that the aftermaths of the natural disaster will have been cleaned up by Wednesday evening. Dagestani leader Magomedsalam Magomedov arrived in Derbent and is holding a working meeting over the cleanup of the aftermaths of the natural disaster with the local authorities and the chief executives of the organizations concerned.