russia’s Housing and Utilities Infrastructure Cannot Withstand Seasonal Changes: Floods, Destruction, and Evacuations All Over the Country

russia’s housing and utilities sector has long since turned into a chronic disaster. In winter – heat pipe breaks, accidents at thermal power plants, and, as a result, russians left without water, heat, and light in bitter cold. In spring, the picture is no better: the rainy season and spring floods expose the authorities’ inability to modernize hydraulic structures, roads, and drainage systems.

In dagestan, heavy rainfall breached the dam of the gedzhukh reservoir. In derbent district, residential buildings are flooded, roads are damaged, and bridges are destroyed – thousands of people have been evacuated from settlements threatened with complete flooding. Torrents of water swept cars right off the roads.

At the same time, a critical situation is unfolding in bashkortostan, where floods have engulfed dozens of settlements. Rivers are bursting their banks, flooding private properties and infrastructure. Bridges are blocked, traffic is restricted, and thousands of people are at risk of losing their homes.

A similar picture is unfolding across the country. In ryazan region, bridges are flooded; in oryol region, settlements are effectively cut off from civilization every year due to the lack of basic infrastructure: people cannot get to work, attend school, or receive medical care.

The diagnosis is clear: russia’s housing and utilities system is incapable of coping even with predictable seasonal phenomena. Instead of carrying out systemic repairs to dams, reinforcing riverbanks, and modernizing utility networks, the authorities for years have been ignoring the basic needs of the population.

The kremlin’s priorities, at this, speak for themselves: colossal resources are being directed toward the war against Ukraine, while the country’s own infrastructure is crumbling and citizens are left to fend for themselves against the consequences of natural disasters.