Pike in puddles, flooded dachas, and closed parks: How the Urals and Siberia are coping with the consequences of continuous downpours
In the Urals and Siberia, continuous downpours have caused widespread flooding of populated areas, summer cottages, and nature parks. Due to rivers overflowing their banks, authorities are forced to declare a state of high alert, and farmers fear crop losses.
Flooding in the Sverdlovsk and Tyumen regions
In the Sverdlovsk region, the Bazhovskie Mesta Nature Park has been submerged due to flooding from the Chernaya River. Specifically, the entrance area, hiking trails, and forest area are currently closed to visitors. There is no estimate yet on when the park will be able to welcome visitors again.
Flooding also affected villages in the Sysertsky District. Yards, basements, and residential buildings in the villages of Nikolskoye and Dvurechensk were flooded, where a high-alert regime has already been put in effect due to the situation.
A similar high-alert regime has been declared in 11 communities near Tyumen. The cause is the same: rising water levels due to prolonged rainfall. According to hydrologist Igor Kuznetsov, the water level in the Tura River will not begin to recede until the first ten days of August. As a result, residents are faced with a new problem: a strange film has appeared on the reservoir, causing massive fish kills.
Flooded dachas in Omsk and a threat to crops in the Southern Urals
In the Omsk region, the gardening community of Tekstilshchik-2 has flooded its plots again after heavy rains. Drainage ditches are unable to cope with the floodwaters, ruining the gardeners' crops. However, only yesterday, the regional task force reported that the problem had been fully resolved.
Meanwhile, prolonged rains in the Chelyabinsk region are threatening a bountiful harvest, according to Anatoly Shundeev, chairman of the Koelginskoye cooperative. Heavy precipitation threatens crops with lodging, waterlogging, and the spread of pathogenic fungi. Furthermore, heavy equipment is unable to access the soggy fields, causing weeds to grow rapidly and delaying chemical treatments.
However, not all Chelyabinsk residents are downhearted by the raging elements! In the city center, heavy rainfall left puddles so deep that a local resident was able to catch two small pike in them, right where the roadway and sidewalk had once been.
