Endurance tests for South Urals

03.09.2013 — Analysis

The meteorite, wild fire, flood...

These are disasters from the list of the emergency situations that took place in the Chelyabinsk Region this year. The year 2013 was full of trying ordeals for the region. The visitor from outer space, numerous hurricanes, the flood that hit many thousand residential buildings...

The South Urals is gradually recovering after the rampancy of waters. The successful experience of the region will be used in rectification of the consequences caused by the high flood in the Far East. This RusBusinessNews article will tell you how the South Urals withstood the emergency situations, gaining experience that should be adopted by other regions.

The fireball from outer space "visited" the South Urals on February 15, 2013. The bolide that exploded in the sky over Chelyabinsk caused damage estimated in several billion rubles. The shock wave damaged more than 7,000 buildings; more than 1,500 people were injured.

Governor Mikhail Yurevich assessed the damage; all the repair works were completed under his personal supervision in the regional center, Korkino, Yemanzhelinsk and other municipalities. The government of the Chelyabinsk Region allocated 130 million rubles from the reserve fund for reconstruction of the infrastructure; 9 million rubles were allotted for assistance to the affected residents.

For his "heroic space deed" M. Yurevich was honored with one of the highest awards of the RF Ministry of Emergency Situations (EMERCOM) – the medal for distinguished service in rectification of the consequences of emergency situations. Different awards were also granted to three thousand residents of the South Urals.

In May, the region faced another tribulation – wild fire. The fire attacked thousands of hectares of planted land. However, by the end of July the number of forest fire outbreaks reduced 4 times as compared to the previous year. The improved supply base of the fire teams in rural areas was an essential factor in this reduction – more than 90% fire outbreaks were eliminated within the first day. The points of fire outbreak were promptly detected due to the air raid support provided by light airplanes and helicopters in more challenging situations.

The weather turned out helpful in "putting a stop" to the fire hazard period. This summer, the region had heavy showers that brought another trouble. At the beginning of August in four districts of the Chelyabinsk Region rivers burst their banks and 16 settlements were flooded. The most devastating flood was in the Kartalinsky District. The "high water" hit 1,257 houses; a lot of livestock and poultry died from flooding.

Parizh village (the Nagaibaksky District) was hit twice by the flood within one month. The first flood caused by the overflow of the Kizil-Chilik River hit about 500 residential dwellings, roads and bridges, electricity lines, causing a blackout. The second flood was on August 21. This time, the water submerged only the vegetable plots located along the river bed.

Shortly after the flood started, the authorities of the Chelyabinsk Region took control over the situation. M. Yurevich entrusted the Vice Prime Minister Igor Murog with the supervision over the situation to provide the required support and assistance to the residents of the submerged areas.

At first, the most immediate task was to provide shelters for accommodation of the affected residents, to restore electricity supply in the off-the-line villages and settlements, to lay roads for temporary usage. About 500 people – one third of the population of Parizh village – were accommodated in the school building and the day-care center. "The evacuated residents were provided with hot meals; teams of rescuers, doctors and psychologists were on round-the clock duty. The abandoned houses of the residents were guarded by the police," the representatives of the administration of the Nagaibaksky District told RusBusinessNews. The pontoon ferry was provided in the Kartalinsky District to connect Annenskoye and Velikopetrovskoye settlements with the administrative center. The water was pumped out from the submerged residential dwellings.

Due to the well-coordinated efforts of the authorities, special services and residents, there were no material losses and panic. "The regional and local services, EMERCOM teams worked professionally and efficiently. I want to express my special gratitude to the population and employees of the schools, rural administrations, hospitals," Mikhail Yurevich pointed out.

After the water levels in the rivers went down substantially and the flood water went away from the villages and settlements, the authorities and residents started estimating losses and embarked on reconstruction of the damaged infrastructure.

Based on the latest data, the August flood in the Chelyabinsk Region caused damage to 2,321 residential buildings; about 160 buildings are not restorable. Some of the residential dwellings were washed away. 141 kilometers of roads, 14 bridges and 7 dams are destroyed; 5 bridges were swept away. 85 thousand hectares of the crop land suffered unrecoverable damage.

By today, all the South Ural residents hit by the flood have received 10 thousand rubles from the regional budget fund. By the order of the governor, those who were left homeless due to the flood will be provided with housing by the end of September through the secondary market. The repair works on the destroyed road pavement are scheduled for completion by October 1 (13 kilometers of the roads have been already reconstructed); most of the bridges will start operating by the beginning of December.

Today, the transport communication has been restored with the submerged areas. The affected districts are supplied with electricity and gas; the preparation work for the winter season is in progress. At the beginning of September, all the schools in the South Urals opened their doors to their students.

The fellow-countrymen helped the affected residents. Cities and towns of the Chelyabinsk Region opened special-purpose assistance centers where fellow residents are still bringing clothing and footwear, warm blankets, pillows, bedding, personal care items, home appliances, food. Moreover, individuals and businesses can transfer money for the affected people to the bank accounts opened in each district hit by the flood.

"We estimate the damage approximately at 2.5 billion rubles. By the decree of the RF government, which was issued on August 15, the Chelyabinsk Region will receive financial support – 529 million rubles to recover the property. We asked for another 1 billion rubles from the Reserve Fund or as a 3-year loan for complete recovery," Mikhail Yurevich said in Khabarovsk on August 29, at the meeting on issues related to the flood in the Far East.

Russian President Vladimir Putin asked the governor to take part in this meeting. The successful experience of the Chelyabinsk Region can be useful in rectification of the consequences of the unprecedented high flood in the Far Eastern areas.

Last week, the regional head Mikhail Yurevich met with the South Ural residents who used their best efforts to help people during the flood. 48 "volunteer rescuers" – residents of the submerged areas, who worked together with the authorities and EMERCOM officers, helping to rescue people, taking an active part in organization of rescue operations and rectification of the consequences of the high flood – received certificates of merit and letters of appreciation from the governor.

It should be noted that the South Ural authorities care about the people in need not only during large-scale emergency situations. For example, they were very concerned about the Chelyabinsk customs officer who had a stroke during his trip to Israel. The regional government organized his transportation back home by an EMERCOM aircraft. The doctors of one of the best Chelyabinsk hospitals are already waiting for him for intensive care.

The family from Verkhny Ufaley, who suffered from the explosions on the shooting ground in the Samara Region, received 100 thousand rubles from the South Ural budget fund. From the day of the accident till the day of discharge of the injured people from the hospital, the information about their health condition was reported directly to M. Yurevich.

Therefore, the Chelyabinsk Region ranked 11^th when rated for social well-being. The ranking was based on two polls that were conducted in February-May 2013. 56,900 respondents from 79 constituent entities of the Russian Federation participated in each of them. The respondents were asked if they were satisfied with the situation in the region, how they would assess their financial standing and if they were willing to take part in any protest movement.

The South Urals gained a high score (the same as Moscow) and entered the list of regions where residents feel comfortable and safe.

Marina SIRINA