Destructive cataclysms in the USSR: How cities died in minutes, and where it was most dangerous to live

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

The USSR did not occupy a leading position in a number of zones of increased activity of natural elements, however, destructive cataclysms did occur here. The land of the Soviets has experienced earthquakes and floods, tornadoes and tsunamis more than once. All this led to mass casualties and caused enormous damage to the state treasury. Some tragic incidents were later reflected in Russian literature and cinema.

Burning Black Sea

In September 1927, a 9-point earthquake began off the Black Sea coast, which destroyed Yalta. As a result of the disaster, more than 17 thousand people were left homeless. Some of the structures were completely destroyed, and the legendary Swallow's Nest was also damaged.

For 11 hours, Crimea felt 27 powerful aftershocks. Landslides and avalanches have been recorded in the mountains. Eyewitnesses observed an unusual phenomenon in the open sea - pillars of fire glowed over the water surface. The reason for this, according to experts, was the combustion of hydrogen sulfide. The riots of nature caused the Crimea 50 millionth damage, but by the next summer the peninsula was completely restored for the next holiday season. True, there are significantly fewer people willing to come to Crimea.

Ashgabat earthquake and a third of the killed citizens

On an October night in 1948, Ashgabat was shaken by powerful tremors with an underground epicenter at a depth of 18 km. In addition to the city itself, dozens of neighboring settlements also got it. The situation was aggravated by the fact that during the earthquake, residents of the city were sleeping in buildings.

Because of this, almost no one managed to leave their homes on time. As a result, tens of thousands of people, most of whom had no chance of survival, were under the rubble of their own homes in an instant. The earthquake destroyed and damaged the main housing stock and more than 200 businesses. The death toll outnumbered the wounded. Today there is no consensus on the number of victims - they call numbers from ten thousand to one hundred. On average, a third of the city's residents died.

Tsunami that washed away Severo-Kurilsk into the ocean

In November 1952, an earthquake struck the ocean, a hundred kilometers from the Kamchatka coast. However, it was not the tremors that were destructive for the peninsula, but the tsunami waves that followed, which destroyed the city of Severo-Kurilsk. At first, residents heard a terrible rumble, and after a few seconds the city was covered with a huge wave 18 meters high. Hundreds of dwellings were swept into the ocean, after which there was silence. However, after 20 minutes the tsunami was repeated, washing away the remaining structures. The water element claimed the lives of half of the urban population - more than 2 thousand people died.

Uzbek ruins and new Tashkent

In the early April morning of 1966, a powerful tremor awakened the sleeping Tashkent residents. 9-point tremors instantly turned the city center into ruins. Fortunately, there were few casualties (9 dead, 15 seriously wounded), but the earthquake deprived about 80,000 Uzbek families of their homes. In addition to the housing stock, hundreds of administrative buildings, retail facilities, educational and medical institutions were seriously affected.

The government of the Soviet Union decided to demolish the remains of the ruins and erect modern high-rise buildings in their place. A little more than 3 years were spent on the complete restoration of the city infrastructure. And the city of one-story adobe buildings has turned into a modern comfortable Tashkent.

Ivanovsky tornado and a hundred dead

Another tragic event of the Soviet era was a fierce tornado that swept over the Ivanovo region in June 1984. On June 9, colliding atmospheric fronts, which came after a long dry period, led to the formation of at least three tornado funnels with a powerful destructive force. The tornadoes moved through several areas, but the most powerful was the whirlwind in Ivanovo.

According to specialists' calculations, the wind speed in the center of the funnel reached one hundred meters per second. As eyewitnesses recalled, the wind easily upturned tall trees, lifted small wooden houses into the air, threw metal containers and traffic lights. As for the victims, the death toll exceeded one hundred people, more than 800 were injured. More than 400 families were left homeless, half a thousand dachas, 200 industrial facilities, and dozens of schools were destroyed. The tornado destroyed almost 2 thousand hectares of crops and plantings. Four years later, the film "Forbidden Zone" was shot about the events of that June. Filming was made at the scene of the tragedy.

Armenian tragedy and 25 thousand victims

A great misfortune befell Armenia in December 1988. A powerful underground earthquake covered almost half of the republic's territories. The repeated 10-point tremors destroyed Spitak and seriously damaged Leninakan (present-day Gyumri), Kirovakan (present-day Vanadzor), Stepanavan. In total, 21 cities and 350 villages were affected by the earthquake, about 60 of which were completely destroyed.

Under the rubble of Spitak's buildings, 25 thousand citizens died, another 19 thousand were crippled, more than 500 thousand people remained on the street. According to experts, more than 40 percent of the country's entire industrial potential was put out of action. Armenia has lost its schools, kindergartens, healthcare facilities and a host of cultural and entertainment institutions. About 600 kilometers of roads and a dozen kilometers of railways fell into disrepair. The economic damage from the disaster amounted to about $ 20 billion.

Seaside Typhoon Judy and Flooded Cities

In the middle of the summer of 1989, the strongest tropical typhoon Judy raged in the Primorsky Territory, which also covered Japan and South Korea. Endless torrential rains provoked widespread flooding, which killed at least 15 people and cut off traffic on the Trans-Siberian Railway. Wind gusts reached the highest speed - over 165 km / h.

It turned out to be completely flooded 120 thousand hectares of land, including over 100 settlements. The disaster damaged about 2 thousand residential buildings, washed out more than 2500 bridges and up to one and a half thousand kilometers of roads. Typhoon killed about 75 thousand head of cattle. Experts attribute "Judy" to the most powerful cataclysms in Primorye in terms of the amount of precipitation.

The plane crash is a terrible catastrophe, there is practically no chance of escape. However, someone was lucky survive falling from heaven.