KHABAROVSK, September 3 (Itar-Tass) - A huge flood wave on Amur River is flowing through the whole Khabarovsk territory, breaking all previous records of river floods. Over the past day the water level on the river near Khabarovsk reached 802 centimeters, going up five centimeters. The flood will reach its peak within next 3-4 days, the emergency situation department in Khabarovsk Territory reported.
As many as 61 settlements happened to be in the flood zone in Khabarovsk Territory, over 2,000 houses, 28 socially important facilities, over 45,000 hectares of crop lands are flooded. About 200 residential houses may be flooded in the near future, the regional emergency situation department said.
A growing number of people are leaving the flood area. As of September 3, 3,606 people were evacuated from the dangerous area, 129 temporary centers are prepared in the districts to accommodate 15,270 people.
Microbiologists have made public the results of the tests of the water samples from the central sewage system, public and private water wells in the flooded settlements. The test results showed that the water can be suitable for drinking only after boiling. No massive acute intestinal infection cases were reported in the flooded districts of the territory yet.
The highest water rise is reported near Komsomolsk-on-Amur, where the water level on the river is growing by 17-20 centimeters per day. According to the forecasts of the emergency situation department, the water level may reach 930-980 centimeters by September 11-15. “This water level has never been reported in the history of Komsomolsk,” RusHydro official Vyacheslav Parshin told Itar-Tass.
The city received an emergency warning about a sharp rise on the river on Tuesday. As many as 600 houses, where about 50,000 people live, may happen to be in the flood area. The works continue to reinforce the dams, waiting for an abnormal flood.
A threat of full flood has emerged in the countryside settlement of Mendeleyev. “The city authorities decided to evacuate urgently residents from one-two storey private houses in the settlement,” the press service of the Komsomolsk authorities told Itar-Tass. Temporary centers were placed in the city to accommodate the evacuated people.
Acting Governor Vyacheslav Shport addressed to the residents in the territory over a worse flood situation. In his view, the grouping of over 11,000 specialists is working round-the-clock to fight the flood in the territory, close cooperation was established with the Eastern Military District, the Ministry of Emergency Situations, the Interior Ministry and the Federal Security Service. The volunteers are giving a sweeping aid.
“You should know and should be sure that no one will be left alone in the face of the natural disaster! The aid will reach each house, each family and each person!” the regional head said.
The units of the Russian Defense Ministry are assisting to build flood defensive facilities and are restoring the roads washed out in the flood in Amur Region, the Jewish Autonomous Region and Khabarovsk Territory.