By Vestnik Kavkaza
Yesterday the head of the EMERCOM of Russia flew to the Far East to coordinate works on the liquidation of consequences of the flood. Vladimir Puchkov will work in Khabarovsk, Komsomolsk-on-Amur, the Jewish Autonomous Oblast, and the Amur Region. According to the Far East regional center of the EMERCOM, more than 5.5 thousand houses are waterlogged; more than 27.5 thousand people were evacuated from the disaster area, the press service reported. The Amur, the Zea, and other rivers had burst their banks. Such a phenomenon is registered for the first time for 120 years in the area.
“It is a milestone hydrologic event which happens once in a blue moon,” Professor of the Environmental Department of the Peoples' Friendship University of Russia, Alexander Khaustov, says. “In history changes of the water regime, such huge floods have been registered previously. However, unfortunately, there were no instrumental observations, so we can say that the possibility of such a phenomenon is once in 100 years. This unique event causes radical reconstruction of the whole environment of the Amur River, especially in his mid and low part. The results led to an enormous material damage; it seems it will be dozens of billion ruble. Moreover, the quality of water has changed, the structure of hydrobiocenose has changed as any flood, especial a major flood, is always stressful for the hydrologic system of the Amur River.”
“May organic remains got in water,” the head of the Institute of Ecology of the International Independent Ecologic and Political Scientific Institute, Yelena Korovina, adds. “Harvest is gone; everything was washed off. It will concentrate in water, on the bottom and demand certain resources to decompose. Under natural corruption of plant remains huge volumes of oxygen are wasted. Thus, concentration of oxygen in rivers will decrease. It can lead to worsening of nutritional conditions for fish. Some species will reduce. A significant amount of oil products got in water. At the moment oil products are drifting away, but a certain amount will stay on the bottom. Nobody can guarantee that the second water pollution won’t take place when the water will mix with pure water.”
“The process which happen during a flood can be compared with the processes which happen when water-collecting areas are filled,” the academician of the International Academy of Sciences of Environment and Security, Vladimir Ilyinsky, explains. “Huge territories with drafts of various depth are flooded. Then, the microbiologic structure of the water-collecting changes radically. It takes up to 5 years to make it balanced and providing natural processes. In five years a structure of microorganisms, their quantity, microbiologic activities will stabilize.
In this situation we have a similar picture. The other negative factor is that when water-collecting areas are built, natural territories are flooded – forests, lands; but in our case there are many flooded buildings and facilities. They can secure anything. First of all, concerning villages, it is a great number of dump wells. Of course, their filling will get in water. It is an easy available source of organic materials for microorganisms. They will start to multiply and the natural balance will be broken.
Organic materials get in all sources of the water supply. Water will discharge, but dirt will remain, but we cannot clean it fast enough. We should be prepared for a situation when all sources of water supply are out of action for a long time… It is important to know whether there were animal burial sites on the territory or not, as they are usually organized for burying cattle died of Siberian plague. If there were animal burial sites, spores of Siberian plague bacteria which have been kept locked away for centuries in burial sites could get in the water. So, the threat of Siberian plague infection is also great… The consequences of the flood will be long-term, and we will have to monitor them for several years following the flood.”
