Prevention over mitigation of consequences. Head of the MChS Evgeny Zinichev personally inspected the work of Yakut rescuers combating spring flooding. Their main task is to prevent blocking of ice and further flooding. Rescuers have hundreds of pieces of equipment and tons of explosives for it.
Denis Novozhilov has the details.
Through the porthole of an An-74 aircraft, the biggest Russian river Lena is in full view. Head of the MChS Evgeny Zinichev assesses the situation with flooding. 100 miles from the border of Yakutia, one can see that the ice has broken up on the river. By May 11th, the ice in the region itself is expected to have broken up as well.
Last year, Yakutia suffered a lot because of spring floods. They were the biggest in the last 10 years. This time, they prepared thoroughly for the accident-free pass of the spring flood. The temperature rose abruptly.
"The water starts moving but the ice doesn't".
Deputy Minister Viktor Yetsutsenko reports to the minister in detail during the flight. He shows the regions on the map which can possibly be flooded. Now, they're 77 populated localities of the republic where over 30,000 people live. Evgeny Zinichev personally inspects the measures to decrease the risks of spring floods which the Yakut authorities and the MChS undertake. The town of Lensk is chosen as a venue for the coordination meeting. Head of the republic Aysen Nikolayev meets the minister at the airport.
"I didn't recognize you".
Right after a friendly greeting, they begin to discuss the issue, with all of the relevant services participating. The main task which the head of the MChS sets is to ensure the safety of the population.
Evgeny Zinichev, head of the MChS: "You need to practice interaction of all of the services of the Universal State System of Prevention and Response to RosChS again. You should consider the options for the redeployment of departments in case the situation deteriorates and check the readiness of temporary accommodation centers".
There are already 272 temporary houses in Yakutia, although the republic's authorities try to prevent but not mitigate the consequences. If necessary, ice blocking which prevents water from flowing will be exploded.
Aysen Nikolayev, head of the Sakha Republic: "Given the hydrological situation, there are 47 possible sites for shot-firing to eliminate ice blocking on the republic's rivers. The operational reserve of explosives is now 25 tons. For the first time, we have a reserve almost $3 million worth in the republic's road fund to carry out restoration works in case the roadway is damaged".
They forecast that the most difficult situation will be along the Kolyma River. The layer of ice there is 3 feet thicker than normal. The movement of ice and water is being constantly monitored from the air.
Pavel Garin, head of the MChS field office in Yakutia: "We organized the work of the rescue service aviation to monitor the current situation with floods and deploy forces and equipment along the way of ice motion on the republic's rivers".
15 aircraft, almost 140 floating craft, over 2,000 pieces of equipment, and 16,500 personnel are ready to combat floods in the Republic of Sakha.
Evgeny Zinichev, head of the MChS: "Overall in Russia, the flood hazard season is over. There's only the Lena River basin, the Northern Dvina River. Everything turned out well in general. Surprisingly, where there was a lot of snow, where we expected the deterioration of the situation, it didn't happen. We hope it'll turn out well in your region too".
Denis Novozhilov, Sergey Soldatov, Ivan Zuev for Vesti: Call Center from Sakha, Yakutia.
