BLAGOVESHCHENSK, August 8 (Itar-Tass) - The evacuation of people was launched in the village Ust-Ivanovka in the Amur region. As many as 25 houses in four streets are flooded in the village. The cattle is being taken out, people are being taken to the evacuation centre in the village Volkovo, where 25 people, including seven children, are already staying, the authorities of the Blagoveshchensk district told Itar-Tass.
The delivery of foodstuffs is put under special control, all evacuated people are provided with hot meals. The authorities of the Amur region held a meeting of the emergency headquarters on Thursday. Evacuation of people began from the village Beloyarova in the Mazanovo district. Meanwhile, the situation has stabilized, the water level in Zeya River went only one centimetre up for the past day, head of the district Mikhail Piven told Itar-Tass. At the Thursday meeting it was decided to ban the traffic of heavy-duty trucks (except for the vehicles, which bring the fuel and the foodstuffs) in the Mazanovo district to preserve the roads. According to the estimates of hydrologists, no sharp rise of water is reported in Blagoveshchensk.
The Blagoveshchensk branch of the Federal Penitentiary Service is preparing the machinery, property and sniffer dogs for evacuation, they raised the most precious things on the second floor of the administrative building. Before this 486 convicts were evacuated for this reason from a penitentiary in Svobodny, the press service of the regional branch of the Russian penitentiary watchdog told Itar-Tass.
Employees of the children’s library in the Amur region are concerned over the fate of the book funds, as the humidity level went up in the building. The director, which is on the way back from the Russian-Chinese fair of culture and arts, explained that the librarians are bringing the books on the second floor in advance.
On Thursday, the regional government has made public the number of the bank account, to which the monetary funds can be transferred for flood-affected people. Dmitry Medvedev’s public reception office also opened a centre receiving the clothes for the flood victims.
Zeya River in the area of Blagoveshchensk went up seven centimetres and reached the level of 726 centimetres (the level of dangerous phenomena is 720 centimetres), Amur River in the area of Blagoveshchensk increased by four centimetres. The water is at the level of 739 centimetres (the level of dangerous phenomena is 750 centimetres). The visits to each house in flood-hit Blagoveshchensk continue, people are informed where evacuation centres are located. The lists of pensioners, disabled people and pregnant women are being made. A total of 2,285 people were evacuated in the Amur region, the press service of the regional government said.
On Wednesday, the prices on canned food, mobile gas stoves and taxi services hiked sharply. Several shops closed even before the end of the workday, people bought out the whole daily stock of bread and milk. It is possible to see the announcements “No candles!” at several shops.
The Blagoveshchensk authorities put prices of foodstuffs under control. On Thursday, the mayoralty held a meeting over an illegal growth of prices. It was decided to form a committee. Specialists for the development of the consumer market, tax inspection and police will inspect the trading enterprises.
The food stocks in the regional centre of the Amur region will be enough for a month in case of the worst scenario of the situation. Now the trading networks in Blagoveshchensk have the stock of flour for 109 days, canned meat for 50 days, sugar for 39 days, cereals for 35 days and macaroni for 33 days.
Over a difficult situation in the Far Eastern Federal District and the unfavourable weather forecast the governmental committee has decided to introduce an emergency situation regime in Yakutia, Khabarovsk and Primorsky territory, Amur and Jewish autonomous regions since August 7, the information department of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations reported on Thursday. The emergency grouping of over 25,000 people and over 4,000 units of machinery was formed in these regions to conduct rescue and other operations, if the flood situation gets worse. About 10,000 people are cleaning up the aftermaths of the flood in the Amur region alone.