Typhoon Khanun hits Russia’s Far East Heavy rains cause dam failure and drownings in Russia’s Primorsky region

Typhoon Khanun brought heavy rains to the Primorsky region, in Russia’s Far East, after it hit Japan and North Korea late last week. Dozens of settlements have been cut off from road access, a number of municipalities have declared states of emergency, and the water in rivers has reached critical levels. According to regional emergency services, on the morning of August 12, 543 private homes, 1,393 household farm plots, and 40 sections of roadway “remained flooded” across 17 municipalities. Problems with communications systems have also arisen in the region. Rescue workers began mass evacuations of residents of affected areas. By the evening of August 12, the regional government counted over 60 settlements impacted by heavy rain and flooding.

Two children drowned in the floods. On August 11, the Primorsky prosecutor’s office reported that two boys, aged 10 and 12, had died in the vicinity of the village of Dalzavodskoye, in the Khorolsky municipal area. “One of the boys got sucked into a culvert by a stream of water pouring through it as a result of the flooding, after which his brother, trying to help, fell in,” the prosecutor’s office said. The PrimaMedia news agency also reported that a woman had drowned in the city of Ussuriysk.

In Ussuriysk, the second-largest city in the Primorsky region, a dam that was necessary for holding back flood waters burst. The dam collapsed in the early hours of August 12, according to the city’s dispatch service. The local authorities called the flooding in Ussuriysk the most “serious and destructive” in 10 years. The day before the floods, 117 millimeters (over 4.5 inches) — nearly a month’s worth of precipitation — fell in the city. The water level in the Razdolnaya river, which overflowed its banks, rose 10 meters (nearly 33 feet) for the first time — higher than a still unfinished dam that was slated to start working only in October 2023, the city administration told Russian state news agency TASS. Evacuation efforts were ongoing over the weekend. By the time of publication, water levels had stopped rising.

The regional governor toured the dam not long before it failed, but the regional authorities now admit that it will be impossible to repair. Primorsky Governor Oleg Kozhemyako personally checked the structure after one neighborhood flooded a month ago. During that inspection, an employee of the Ussuriysk urban district told Kozhemyako that “Everything was welded [so that the dam wouldn’t fail], but one day was not enough to cover the spillway in concrete.” Afterwards, the governor noted that the project was “a little behind schedule” due to heavy rains, but promised that the dam would be finished by the end of July “so that the district is protected from future flooding.” After the latest flood, on August 12, Ussuriysk Mayor Yevgeny Korzh said that the “channel [that opened in the dam] cannot be eliminated at present,” but added that the situation was under control. “We knew ahead of time that there would be a lot of water. I don’t think there’s any serious danger from the failure, we warned everyone and removed everyone [from the impacted area].” 

Many animals suffered from the flooding. A local Telegram channel, Kommunar Ussuriysk, posted photos of lost dogs, including some who “refused to leave with strangers” when rescuers tried to evacuate them. Local news agency UssurMedia reported on August 11 that in Novonikolsk, a large village in the region, an animal housing over 700 homeless dogs and cats had flooded. Later the same day, the city administration said the animals had been rescued from flooded enclosures, but on August 12, the head of the shelter, Irina Mudrova, told the publication 7x7 that three puppies and one adult dog had died. Mudrova said she declined emergency services’ offer to evacuate the animals because she had no idea where the authorities could place them. Volunteers built barricades at the shelter to help keep the animals above the level of the water. The flood waters also reached the zoo in the village of Borisovka, and several animals were evacuated.

Heavy rains in the Primorsky region are not expected to stop in the near future. According to Primgidromet, the regional meteorological service, another powerful typhoon, named Lan, is approaching the region. There are several forecasts for the storm’s likely trajectory, but according to Boris Kubay, the region’s head forecaster, “none are favorable for the area.”