Residents of a flooded Bryansk settlement are banned from sailing their boats through the streets
Photo by Bryansky Grumbler
Residents of Ryditsa-Krylovka were in a dire situation following the flood that hit the area on the night of March 29. They urgently demanded that officials provide them with inflatable boats, as the authorities had prohibited them from using their own. Unfortunately, only five inflatable boats were made available by the officials, leaving many residents without means to navigate the flooded streets. Adding insult to injury, several people were fined by the Ministry of Emergency Situations for violating the ban on using personal boats.
The villagers accused the local and regional administrations of covering up the severity of the flood. Officials had reassured the people that there would be no severe flood, so many residents didn't move their belongings to higher ground. The lack of action to clean the culverts before the flood worsened the situation.
At a gathering, people were informed that the consequences of the flood were being assessed from a drone. However, upon a closer look at the official list, many didn’t find their houses on it, prompting them to demand a proper assessment of the territory.
The flooding in Ryditsa-Krylovka was part of a larger disaster that hit over 30 regions. For instance, the village of Zaokskoye in the Ryazan region was cut off from neighboring areas due to the overflow of the Oka River. In some places, the water rose to the level of rapids; on one occasion, a doctor was forced to travel by boat to reach a patient in a nearby village. A viral video showed residents crossing a flooded road in the scoop of a tractor-trailer.