Floods in Saint Petersburg refer to a rise of water on the territory of St. Petersburg, a major city in Russia and its former capital. They are usually caused by the overflow of the delta of Neva River and surging water in the eastern part of Neva Bay but sometimes caused by melting snow. Floods are registered when the water rises above 160 cm with respect to a gauge at the Saint Petersburg Mining Institute. More than 300 floods have occurred since the city was founded in 1703.[1][2][3]
The construction of Saint Petersburg Dam, started in 1978 and completed in 2011, is expected to protect the city from devastating floods.[4] The dam is the last completed part of the Saint Petersburg Ring Road. Its first use to hold back the incoming Baltic water into Neva bay took place 28 November 2011 and had resulted in decrease of water rise to 1.3 MASL, that is below flood level equal to 1.6 masl,[5] which prevented the 309th flood in the history of the city and saved some 1.3 billion roubles of possible damage.[6]
Floods in St. Petersburg are caused by several factors. Cyclones, originating in the Baltic Sea with a prevalence of west winds, induce a "slow" matched Kelvin wave to rise and move towards the delta of Neva River where it meets the natural river flow moving in the opposite direction. The water level rises because of the shallowness of Neva Bay, flatness of its bottom and the narrowing of the Gulf of Finland near the delta. Seiches, onsets and another factors also contribute to the floods. Besides flooding as a result of storm surges, in 1903, 1921 and 1956 floods were caused by the melting of snow.[7]
History
A sign of the heaviest flood in St. Petersburg (1824) at the intersection of the Cadet line and the Bolshoi Prospekt of Vasilievsky Island
Prior to the founding of St. Petersburg in 1703, the largest flood occurred in 1691. Swedish annals report that the water covered the entire area of the present St. Petersburg by 25 feet (7.6 meters). Knowing about frequent floods from the locals, the Swedes laid the fortress Nyenschantz and the city of Nyen away from the delta upstream of the Neva River, at the confluence of the river Ohta to Neva.[8]
The first flood in St. Petersburg city occurred 3 months after its founding, on the night of 19 to 20 August 1703. The water rose more than 2 meters. The water rose much higher on 20 September 1706, which in his letter to Alexander Menshikov, Peter I described as "the west-south-west wind brought the flood undescribed before. In my offices, it stood 21 inches above the floor, and people traveled by boats through the city streets. Yet it did not last long, less than 3 hours. And it was amusing to see people on the roofs and trees... Water was high, but didn't cause much harm ".[8][9]
Engineering measures were instituted in the early 18th century,[10] and the central part of the city was flooded by only 130–150 cm. Floods are registered in St. Petersburg when water rises above 160 cm at the level gauge at the Saint Petersburg Mining Institute; floods up to 210 cm are considered dangerous, up to 299 cm very dangerous and above 300 cm catastrophic. Of the 324 floods in the history of St. Petersburg, three were catastrophic.[11]
Most floods occur in between September and December. Between 1703 and 2003, 324 floods were recorded with the height above 160 cm, of which 210 were higher than 210 cm. Some years have had several floods (five in 1752), and there are periods in which no flooding occurred (e.g. 1744–1752).[8]
The following table lists the 50 largest floods between 1703 and 2003.[8][11][12] The largest flood occurred in 1824 and killed several hundred people. This flood inspired the poem The Bronze Horseman by Alexander Pushkin.[10]
A recent large flood (239 cm) occurred on 8–9 January 2005 caused by the cyclone Erwin.[13] Six metro stations were closed.[8] There were three floods in 2008, all below 200 centimeters.[8][14]
Construction of a complex of dams protecting St. Petersburg from the floods began in 1979 but was halted in the 1990s when 60% was completed.[11] The construction was resumed in 2005 and the completed dam was inaugurated on 12 August 2011. The dam is also the last completed part of the Saint Petersburg Ring Road, providing direct roadway access from mainland to the Kotlin Island and Kronshtadt.
The first use of the dam to hold back the incoming Baltic water into Neva bay took place 28 November 2011, when a major storm came from Scandinavia and caused a surge wave. Closing the dam had resulted in decrease of water rise to 1.3 masl, that is below flood level equal to 1.6 masl,[5] which prevented the flood and saved some 1.3 billion roubles of possible damage.[6] Though the 309th flood in the history of the city happened a month later at 27—28 December 2011, when despite closing the dam gates heavy cyclone forced the water to rise up to 1.7 masl which couldn't make serious damage to the city.[15] Specialists suppose that if there were no dam, there could have been level up to 2.3 masl with serious consequences.[16]
^ ab(in Russian) Мощнейший ураган и наводнение накрыли Петербург: вода угрожает городу (ВИДЕО), Главред, 11/28/2011
^ abДирекция КЗС: Дамба предотвратила ущерб в 1,3 млрд рублей (in Russian)
^A. Morozova (26 February 2010). "A bridge might be removed in St. Petersburg because of the flood". Komsomolskaya Pravda.
^ abcdefList of floods in St. Petersburg (in Russian)
^K. Valishevsky (2002). Петр Великий (in Russian). ACT. p. 294. ISBN5-17-015738-X.
^ abJulie A. Buckler (2005). Mapping St. Petersburg: imperial text and cityshape. Princeton University Press. pp. 230–233. ISBN0-691-11349-1.
^ abcThe actual situation of problem in the Partner Countries[permanent dead link], NATO Science Programme
^R. Nezhihovsky (1981). Neva River and Neva Bay. Gidrometeoizdat. pp. 203–204.
^Averkiev, Alexander S.; Klevannyy, Konstantin A. (2010). "A case study of the impact of cyclonic trajectories on sea-level extremes in the Gulf of Finland". Continental Shelf Research. 30 (6): 707. doi:10.1016/j.csr.2009.10.010.
^Storm winds in St. Petersburg – St. Petersburg news, Фонтанка.Ру (in Russian)
^"Петербург не избежал наводнения, но серьезных последствий нет". RIA Novosti (in Russian). 2011-12-28.
^309-е наводнение войдет в историю Петербурга как «историческая формальность». Karpovka.net (in Russian). 2011-12-28.
March 30, 2023
floods, saint, petersburg, refer, rise, water, territory, petersburg, major, city, russia, former, capital, they, usually, caused, overflow, delta, neva, river, surging, water, eastern, part, neva, sometimes, caused, melting, snow, floods, registered, when, wa. Floods in Saint Petersburg refer to a rise of water on the territory of St Petersburg a major city in Russia and its former capital They are usually caused by the overflow of the delta of Neva River and surging water in the eastern part of Neva Bay but sometimes caused by melting snow Floods are registered when the water rises above 160 cm with respect to a gauge at the Saint Petersburg Mining Institute More than 300 floods have occurred since the city was founded in 1703 1 2 3 A map of easily flooded areas of St Petersburg from Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary of 1907 The construction of Saint Petersburg Dam started in 1978 and completed in 2011 is expected to protect the city from devastating floods 4 The dam is the last completed part of the Saint Petersburg Ring Road Its first use to hold back the incoming Baltic water into Neva bay took place 28 November 2011 and had resulted in decrease of water rise to 1 3 MASL that is below flood level equal to 1 6 masl 5 which prevented the 309th flood in the history of the city and saved some 1 3 billion roubles of possible damage 6 Contents 1 Causes 2 History 3 Largest floods 4 Protective dam 5 See also 6 ReferencesCauses EditFloods in St Petersburg are caused by several factors Cyclones originating in the Baltic Sea with a prevalence of west winds induce a slow matched Kelvin wave to rise and move towards the delta of Neva River where it meets the natural river flow moving in the opposite direction The water level rises because of the shallowness of Neva Bay flatness of its bottom and the narrowing of the Gulf of Finland near the delta Seiches onsets and another factors also contribute to the floods Besides flooding as a result of storm surges in 1903 1921 and 1956 floods were caused by the melting of snow 7 History Edit A sign of the heaviest flood in St Petersburg 1824 at the intersection of the Cadet line and the Bolshoi Prospekt of Vasilievsky Island Prior to the founding of St Petersburg in 1703 the largest flood occurred in 1691 Swedish annals report that the water covered the entire area of the present St Petersburg by 25 feet 7 6 meters Knowing about frequent floods from the locals the Swedes laid the fortress Nyenschantz and the city of Nyen away from the delta upstream of the Neva River at the confluence of the river Ohta to Neva 8 The first flood in St Petersburg city occurred 3 months after its founding on the night of 19 to 20 August 1703 The water rose more than 2 meters The water rose much higher on 20 September 1706 which in his letter to Alexander Menshikov Peter I described as the west south west wind brought the flood undescribed before In my offices it stood 21 inches above the floor and people traveled by boats through the city streets Yet it did not last long less than 3 hours And it was amusing to see people on the roofs and trees Water was high but didn t cause much harm 8 9 Engineering measures were instituted in the early 18th century 10 and the central part of the city was flooded by only 130 150 cm Floods are registered in St Petersburg when water rises above 160 cm at the level gauge at the Saint Petersburg Mining Institute floods up to 210 cm are considered dangerous up to 299 cm very dangerous and above 300 cm catastrophic Of the 324 floods in the history of St Petersburg three were catastrophic 11 Most floods occur in between September and December Between 1703 and 2003 324 floods were recorded with the height above 160 cm of which 210 were higher than 210 cm Some years have had several floods five in 1752 and there are periods in which no flooding occurred e g 1744 1752 8 Largest floods Edit 19 November 1824 in front of Bolshoi Theatre 19 November 1824 Sadovaya Street near the former Nikolsky Market 15 November 1903 Bolshaya Podyacheskaya Street 25 November 1903 Boat transportation over Vasilievsky Island during the flood of 23 September 1924 Vladimirsky Avenue after the flood of 1924 A pier during the flood of 18 October 1967 Near the Mining Institute on 18 October 1967 The following table lists the 50 largest floods between 1703 and 2003 8 11 12 The largest flood occurred in 1824 and killed several hundred people This flood inspired the poem The Bronze Horseman by Alexander Pushkin 10 A recent large flood 239 cm occurred on 8 9 January 2005 caused by the cyclone Erwin 13 Six metro stations were closed 8 There were three floods in 2008 all below 200 centimeters 8 14 Chronological No Date New style Water level cm Peak hour1 84 19 November 1824 421 14 002 210 23 September 1924 380 19 153 71 9 September 1777 321 morning4 244 15 October 1955 293 20 455 264 29 September 1975 281 4 006 39 22 October 1752 280 10 007 9 2 October 1723 272 8 14 1 November 1726 270 9 183 13 November 1903 269 9 0010 7 5 November 1721 265 daytime11 86 20 August 1831 264 night12 3 9 September 1706 262 daytime13 319 30 November 1999 262 4 3514 25 10 September 1736 26115 298 6 December 1986 260 13 3016 215 15 October 1929 258 17 1518 83 24 January 1822 254 night19 144 29 October 1874 252 4 0020 55 20 November 1764 244 21 201 17 November 1917 244 6 5022 254 18 October 1967 244 13 3023 45 29 September 1756 24224 136 20 October 1873 242 25 175 4 November 1897 242 12 0026 261 17 November 1974 242 1 0027 177 26 November 1898 240 23 3028 260 20 December 1973 240 7 1529 219 8 January 1932 239 3 0030 225 8 October 1935 239 5 5031 18 12 October 1729 237 10 0032 76 29 September 1788 237 33 145 26 November 1874 237 4 0034 171 2 November 1895 237 3 0035 227 9 September 1937 236 5 3036 37 17 October 1744 234 37 41 26 October 1752 234 12 0038 43 11 December 1752 234 night39 228 14 September 1938 233 2 2540 269 7 September 1977 231 16 5041 292 1 January 1984 231 21 2042 125 19 January 1866 229 10 0043 208 24 November 1922 228 19 1544 315 12 October 1994 228 13 5045 116 8 October 1863 227 2 0046 211 3 January 1925 225 21 3047 81 6 September 1802 224 daytime48 122 19 May 1865 224 9 1049 202 24 August 1918 224 9 1050 242 14 October 1954 222 21 00Protective dam Edit A giant lock of the Saint Petersburg Dam Main article Saint Petersburg Dam Construction of a complex of dams protecting St Petersburg from the floods began in 1979 but was halted in the 1990s when 60 was completed 11 The construction was resumed in 2005 and the completed dam was inaugurated on 12 August 2011 The dam is also the last completed part of the Saint Petersburg Ring Road providing direct roadway access from mainland to the Kotlin Island and Kronshtadt The first use of the dam to hold back the incoming Baltic water into Neva bay took place 28 November 2011 when a major storm came from Scandinavia and caused a surge wave Closing the dam had resulted in decrease of water rise to 1 3 masl that is below flood level equal to 1 6 masl 5 which prevented the flood and saved some 1 3 billion roubles of possible damage 6 Though the 309th flood in the history of the city happened a month later at 27 28 December 2011 when despite closing the dam gates heavy cyclone forced the water to rise up to 1 7 masl which couldn t make serious damage to the city 15 Specialists suppose that if there were no dam there could have been level up to 2 3 masl with serious consequences 16 See also EditGeography of Saint Petersburg History of Saint PetersburgReferences Edit Holly Hughes Larry West 2008 Frommer s 500 Places to See Before They Disappear Frommer s p 327 ISBN 0 470 18986 X D V Ryabchuk et al The Neva Bay Russia antropogenic lagoon PDF All Russia Research Geological Institute Water pollution in the hydroelectric power plants area permanent dead link Saint Petersburg Dam official site in Russian a b in Russian Moshnejshij uragan i navodnenie nakryli Peterburg voda ugrozhaet gorodu VIDEO Glavred 11 28 2011 a b Direkciya KZS Damba predotvratila usherb v 1 3 mlrd rublej in Russian A Morozova 26 February 2010 A bridge might be removed in St Petersburg because of the flood Komsomolskaya Pravda a b c d e f List of floods in St Petersburg in Russian K Valishevsky 2002 Petr Velikij in Russian ACT p 294 ISBN 5 17 015738 X a b Julie A Buckler 2005 Mapping St Petersburg imperial text and cityshape Princeton University Press pp 230 233 ISBN 0 691 11349 1 a b c The actual situation of problem in the Partner Countries permanent dead link NATO Science Programme R Nezhihovsky 1981 Neva River and Neva Bay Gidrometeoizdat pp 203 204 Averkiev Alexander S Klevannyy Konstantin A 2010 A case study of the impact of cyclonic trajectories on sea level extremes in the Gulf of Finland Continental Shelf Research 30 6 707 doi 10 1016 j csr 2009 10 010 Storm winds in St Petersburg St Petersburg news Fontanka Ru in Russian Peterburg ne izbezhal navodneniya no sereznyh posledstvij net RIA Novosti in Russian 2011 12 28 309 e navodnenie vojdet v istoriyu Peterburga kak istoricheskaya formalnost Karpovka net in Russian 2011 12 28 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Floods in Saint Petersburg amp oldid 1146738694, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
