Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin, on a visit to the flood-stricken area, said the reconstruction effort must begin immediately. He also promised adequate government aid. The flooding followed Siberia's harshest winter on record. Spring melt waters prompted the river to bloat, and persistent ice blockages prevented it from flowing north. At the height of the floods, jets and helicopters dropped bombs and explosives on the ice floes to blast them apart.
Siberian rivers flood regularly because they flow from south to north.
The snow that melts in the south, where the spring thaw begins earlier, runs into ice in the still chilly north. But this year an unusually cold winter and a warm spring combined to create widespread flooding, the likes of which Siberians haven't seen in 100 years. As flooding along the Lena begins to subside, and the River Ob takes over, officials are eyeing another of the great Siberian rivers, the Yenisei, which also could burst its banks. The Red Cross also supplies nearly half of the nation's lifesaving blood. This, too, is made possible by generous voluntary donations.