Downpours increased the quantity of traffic accidents

On August 23, 2006 Vasily Grabzevich, a vice-premier of Yakutia, has arranged the meeting regarding the aftermath of steady downpours in Yakutsk.

The day before, the vice-premier made an appeal to the chief of the Republic division of the Russian Emergencies Ministry for assisting the City Hall of Yakutsk by providing additional water-pumping transports.

For two days, since Monday, Yakutsk has got two-month ‘quota' of atmospheric precipitates. Streets are flooded. According to weather forecast, rains should stop but only after August 24.

“Traffic is hard in Yakutsk . Rainwater disposals cannot cope with storm precipitation. For emergency reasons, fire-engines have been attracted,” says the official report of the Republic Ministry of Nature Resources.

According to State Motor Vehicle Inspectorate, the quantity of traffic accidents increased extremely for that short span of time. “Drivers didn't accustomed to such situation on roads. They continue to ride in the same way as on dry asphalt. But it is necessary to remember that in this case braking distance is much longer,” says Nadezhda Dvorezkaya, a spokesman of the state inspectorate. When waters fall into engines, cars tend to get stuck as well.

At present river water-level remains below critical level.

// 23.08.2006

Resource: Yakutia-Sakha News Agency