Sappers Blow up Ice to Destroy Jams in the Rivers of Primorye

Sappers have staged almost 400 explosions to prevent ice jams in the rivers of Primorye, Russia's Far East.

The situation has to be controlled 14-16 hours a day so that there could be no ice jams, said the territory's Civil Defence and Emergencies Department.

In the meantime, the spring flood is in full swing. According to weather forecasters, water in the rivers keeps rising 20 centimetres a day and has already flooded the low flood-lands in the lower current of the rivers Arsenyevka and Ilistaya.

During the night, the ice covering the undercurrent of the river Razdolnaya set in motion five days earlier than it usually does. In the next 24 hours, ice motion is expected to begin in the middle current of the river Ussuri.

The town that suffered the worst damage is Spassk-Dalny, which is now going through the second flood wave. 20 private homes have been flooded on the banks of the rivers Spassovka and Kuleshovka, whose water level rose 20 centimetres above the critical level.

The second wave of the flood was prompted by a heavy rainfall, which melted the remaining snow.