Nature rules a bloody feast

Nature has been raging for several days Black Sea shore.

On Friday, the flood on Black Sea shore reached its high point. It was raining for the whole week. On Abrau Dyurso dam, water raised higher than critical level and a scour appeared in the dam into which water spouted. It should be reminded that if the dam turns out to be not strong enough, the whole water will gush out to the settlement.

In the city of Novorossiysk, the things are even worse: almost all streets are covered with water. The highway to the city is blocked by mudflows, so transport communication is injured. As a result of the natural catastrophe, 32 people died in the area of Nororossiysk, including several children. Though, according to ITAR-Tass referring to Russian Emergency Ministry, the number of the victims could be bigger.

At the moment, rescuers gather information about people who spend their holidays on Black Sea shore. Many of them lived in numerous tent camps near to seashore, when the flood started. The reports were confirmed that water from reservoir, which flew to the sea, within several minutes annihilated a tent camp in Abrau Dyurso. According to preliminary information, in the camp, there were 300 people, while now nothing is known about them. According to weather forecasters, it will stop raining on Black Sea shore only on Monday, August 12. Rosgidromet (Russian meteorological Service) director Roman Vilfant said in his interview to Ekho Moskvy that it would be raining till August 11, though the rains should not be so intensive. But Vilfant did not excluded the possibility of waterspouts in the area of Big Sochi.

P.S. Latest piece of information: a new waterspout has fallen on Shirokaya Balka settlement, Dyurso, and Abrau Dyurso settlements, now local dwellers are being evacuated. According to Russian Emergency Ministry, the waterspout funnel is 200 m wide and 3,000 m high. Water gushed out from the burst dam. It is still raining.

Yegor Belous PRAVDA.Ru

NTVRU.comphotograph

Translated by Vera Solovieva

Read the original in Russian: http://www.pravda.ru/main/2002/08/09/45479.html