OCHA Situation Report No. 2
Russian Federation - Floods
23 May 2001


Situation

1.  EMERCOM Russia reports that six regions in Ural, Siberia, and Far East
are affected by floods;  32 towns and villages with the total population
of 53,101 people are located in the affected zone; the revised number of
affected population is 28,036; 19,248 persons have been evacuated from
their houses.

2.  The worst affected area is the Republic of Sakha-Yakutia, where
special concern has been given to the city of Yakutsk. According to data
provided by EMERCOM, the directly affected population in Yakutia is 10,793
(985 houses), and 15,968 people have been evacuated to safe areas. On 22
May the River Lena reached a level of 906 centimeters (critical level ?
780 centimeters)  in Yakutsk, and 1,247 centimeters (critical level ? 910
centimeters) in the town of Kangalassy.

3.  According to news agencies' reports, the water level of the Lena River
began to subside on 22 May after emergency workers destroyed ice jams
blocking the river's flow.  The news agencies cite local authorities
confirming casualties:  five people were killed, and two were missing. The
Lensk oil reservoir was flooded spilling approximately 5,000 tons of
diesel fuel and gasoline into the Lena.

4.  Siberia's rivers, which flow from south to north, flood regularly in
the spring.  Local officials were taken aback by the intensity of this
year's deluge, which experts said was caused by a combination of an
unusually cold winter and a warm spring.


National response

5.  EMERCOM advises that the situation is under control so far. A 7.7
kilometers long dam has been built in Yakutsk to protect the city against
the flood.  The dam is designed to hold water until it reaches the
950-centimeter mark.  Nonetheless, 3,580 people were evacuated in advance,
and 35 evacuation camps with capacity for 4,165 people were erected.
Combat aircraft have been used to destroy the ice clog on the Lena, and 41
specially equipped rescue workers from Sakhalin, Kamchatka, Jewish Oblast,
Amur Oblast and Primorye Rescue Services were dispatched to Yakutsk. They
will deliver 16 motorboats and 10 motors.

6.  6,600 people have been evacuated from the town of Lensk, and another
790 from the Lensky Ulus (both are located in the Republic of
Sakha-Yakutia).  They are currently returning to their homes.  A
rehabilitation effort has begun in Lensk: 1,831 houses, 396 kms of high
voltage power transmission lines, 164 power transformer stations, 184 kms
of roads, 2 bridges, 470 kms of communication lines, 5 radio stations, 7
health facilities and 26 schools are to be restored. A temporary hospital
with 20 beds has been deployed in the city to combat the spread of
contagious diseases.  Work is underway to remove debris. On May 21, a
23-member governmental working group arrived in Lensk to coordinate the
rehabilitation effort and address urgent needs in that area.

7.  The local branches of the Russian Red Cross are raising funds locally,
and so far 15 MTs of food as well as basic relief items have been
distributed in Lensk, Irkutsk, and Yakutsk.


International response

8.  The Government has not asked for international assistance.

9.  OCHA/Response Coordination Branch (RCB) is following the situation in
close contact with the OCHA Office in Moscow.

10.  The International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC) is providing
assistance to the local branches of the Russian Red Cross and assessing
the needs in the affected areas. It has issued a CHF 50,000 DREF
allocation to respond to the immediate needs.  At the request of the
Yakutsk EMERCOM, Medecins sans Frontieres (MSF) Belgium is undertaking a
needs assessment in Yakutsk.

11.  This Situation Report and further information on ongoing emergencies
are also available on the OCHA Internet Website at:
http://www.reliefweb.int.


Telephone: +41-22-91712 34
Fax: +41-22-917 00 23
E-mail: ochagva@un.org

In case of emergency only: Tel. +41-22-917 20 10

Desk Officers (OCHA Disaster Response Branch):
  Ms. Merete Johansson    Tel.+41-22-917 16.94
  Mr Stephen Tull         Tel.+41-22-917-3168
  Ms. Knarik Kamalyan     Tel.+41-22-917.16.94

Press contact:
  (GVA)  Mr. Donato Kiniger-Passigli, direct Tel. +41-22-91726 53


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