And the Nizhny Novgorod region is eliminating the consequences of heavy snowfall

For the second day in the Nizhny Novgorod region, they are eliminating the consequences of a two-hour snowfall that hit the region on October 17. The wires were cut off by fallen trees and the weight of the accumulated snow. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, as of the morning of October 19, almost 250 settlements in the region were cut off from power supply. Almost 10.6 thousand people remain without electricity, 1.5 thousand of them are children. 50 teams from other regions arrived to help Nizhny Novgorod power engineers. Electricity supply has already been restored in 831 settlements. In Nizhny Novgorod, local deputies are talking about the need to develop a program for the sanitation of all green spaces in order to reduce the risk of them falling on wires, cars and roads.

In the Nizhny Novgorod region, almost 250 settlements remain without electricity for the second day after heavy snowfall and strong winds hit the region on October 17. This is stated in the reports of the duty department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation. According to police, there are still no power consumers in 19 municipalities. In total, almost 10.6 thousand Nizhny Novgorod residents in 8.5 thousand houses remain without electricity. Of these, about 1.5 thousand people are children of different ages. In addition, 12 socially significant facilities were de-energized.

According to operational data, there were no injuries or deaths as a result of the disaster. This information was confirmed to Kommersant by the Nizhny Novgorod Ministry of Health. According to the ministry, none of the Nizhny Novgorod residents turned to medical organizations for help in any way related to injuries or bruises received due to bad weather.

Snowfall and strong winds in the Nizhny Novgorod region began immediately after prolonged rain that fell in the region on the night of October 17. In 2–2.5 hours, almost a month’s worth of precipitation fell in some municipalities.

In particular, in Nizhny Novgorod, the thickness of the fresh snow cover was more than 5 cm. In a few hours, about 500 trees fell in the city. Some of them collapsed on the wires of power lines and contact networks of ground-based electric transport. More than 30 traffic lights were disabled. According to the mayor of the city, Yuri Shalabaev, the amount of precipitation exceeded the forecast by almost one and a half times.

Almost all municipal equipment was used to eliminate the consequences. Priority was given to trees that fell on wires and roads. “They no longer interfere with traffic, but it will not be possible to cut and remove such a large quantity right away,” the mayor of the city clarified.

Due to bad weather, the operation of the Nizhny Novgorod Chkalov airport was suspended for several hours. Three sides were sent to alternate airfields. In one of them was the Sibir hockey team from Novosibirsk, heading to a match with Nizhny Novgorod Torpedo. Governor Gleb Nikitin asked residents not to use personal transport unless absolutely necessary and to postpone matters requiring travel until the bad weather passes.

“Nizhnovenergo” (branch of JSC “IDGC of Center and Volga Region”) on the day of snowfall passed to work in a special mode. 278 brigades and 434 units of special equipment were prepared for a rapid response. By the evening of the same day, regional authorities announced that 50 teams from neighboring regions arrived in the Nizhny Novgorod region to eliminate breaks on power lines.

On the morning of October 19, power supply to consumers was restored in 831 settlements, damage to 312 power lines was repaired, and 5,080 transformer substations were put into operation.

During the work, more than 200 trees that fell on wires were removed, and almost 300 broken supports and insulators were replaced. In total, more than 800 power engineers and 351 pieces of special equipment took part in eliminating the consequences of the snowfall. Nizhnovenergo claims that power supply to socially significant facilities is proceeding as normal. Work continues on individual consumer requests.

Having gathered after the snowfall, deputies of the city duma again remembered the need to sanitize all city trees in order to identify the most dangerous ones. Nizhny Novgorod environmentalists have been talking about the need to carry out such a reorganization for several years, but the work has not begun. According to the head of the budget commission, Mark Feldman, there are thousands of trees in Nizhny Novgorod that in case of bad weather can fall on wires and cars. “In case of material damage, owners of damaged cars will go to court for damages. The source of this compensation will be the city budget. We must anticipate such situations,” said Mr. Feldman.

He believes that the city should conduct a complete audit of all city plantings, diseased and damaged trees, and healthy trees should be crowned so that in the event of another snowfall, the risk of them falling on people, roads and cars will be reduced. As a result of the discussion, the deputies decided to prepare an appeal to the mayor’s office with a proposal to develop an appropriate program.

Andrey Repin, Nizhny Novgorod