The Ministry of Emergency Situations employees of the Vitebsk region are preparing for the flood

According to specialists' forecasts, the spring flood in 2013 promises to be one of the most abundant in the last half-century. It began much later than usual – in the first days of April. This spring, serious floods are likely in the basins of the Viliya, Berezina, Sozh, and especially the Pripyat rivers.

Cold weather in March and precipitation in the second decade contributed to snow accumulation and adjusted the hydrometeorological situation. In the near future, specialists of the Department of Hydrometeorology of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection promise cold weather; nevertheless, the water level will rise. Currently, all forces of the Vitebsk Regional Directorate of the Ministry of Emergency Situations have been put on alert to respond to emergencies related to the flood passage.

Constant monitoring of the situation's development has been established. Routes and bypass roads to settlements in areas where water blockage is possible have been identified. Situation maps for each district and for the region as a whole, as well as action algorithms for involving forces and means for blasting operations, have been developed.

For example, on April 1, in the Liozno district, near the village of Osipenki on the Chernitsa River, where the ice thickness near the bridge's supporting structures reached half a meter, blasting operations were carried out. Thus, to prevent congestion, specialists of the explosive service of the PPSO UMChS cleared 1000 square meters of ice cover.

Elvira GAMM, "Vitebsky Rabochy"