I am usually banging on
about my own travel exploits, so I probably haven't ever mentioned
the fact that my brother is a bit of globe trotter too! However,
while I just have a never ending desire to see the world, Maarten
travels for work. He has been all over the world, but most recently
his job took him to Russia where he ended up being caught up in a bit
of an adventure!
During his stay in the Krasnodar region in the South of Russia, torrential rain led to flash floods in the area and close to 200 people lost their lives. Maarten was lucky that he managed to get out of the area fairly quickly and head North where he was able to return home, but not before he experienced the devastation that flooding can cause first hand. It's not something we ever really think about in South Africa, it's rare for us to be under any threat from flooding other than that caused by burst pipes. Maarten said that he saw many houses which were almost submerged completely and people being airlifted from rooftops by helicopters. He got to ride in a helicopter too which he was pretty excited about.
Of course, for Maarten this was a bit of excitement which cut short his trip, but he was lucky to be able to leave it all behind. Watching it on the news does not really convey the true cost, but hearing Maarten describe it, we all felt the grim reality for those people who lost their homes, all of their belongings and in some cases their lives. They had nowhere to run to, unlike Maarten they couldn't get themselves to Moscow and hop on a plane to sunnier climes.
The floods occurred early in July, and it has since emerged that several Russian officials have actually been detained following an investigation into how the disaster was handled. District officials have come under fire from Russia's president Vladimir Putin for not issuing flood warning to the public in time for them to escape. Many feel that earlier warning could have reduced the death toll. Several others are under investigation for negligence too.
I'm not sure that pointing fingers and assigning blame is worth it. It won't bring back homes or lost lives, but I suppose it may stop it being so severe in future. My heart goes out to them.
During his stay in the Krasnodar region in the South of Russia, torrential rain led to flash floods in the area and close to 200 people lost their lives. Maarten was lucky that he managed to get out of the area fairly quickly and head North where he was able to return home, but not before he experienced the devastation that flooding can cause first hand. It's not something we ever really think about in South Africa, it's rare for us to be under any threat from flooding other than that caused by burst pipes. Maarten said that he saw many houses which were almost submerged completely and people being airlifted from rooftops by helicopters. He got to ride in a helicopter too which he was pretty excited about.
Of course, for Maarten this was a bit of excitement which cut short his trip, but he was lucky to be able to leave it all behind. Watching it on the news does not really convey the true cost, but hearing Maarten describe it, we all felt the grim reality for those people who lost their homes, all of their belongings and in some cases their lives. They had nowhere to run to, unlike Maarten they couldn't get themselves to Moscow and hop on a plane to sunnier climes.
The floods occurred early in July, and it has since emerged that several Russian officials have actually been detained following an investigation into how the disaster was handled. District officials have come under fire from Russia's president Vladimir Putin for not issuing flood warning to the public in time for them to escape. Many feel that earlier warning could have reduced the death toll. Several others are under investigation for negligence too.
I'm not sure that pointing fingers and assigning blame is worth it. It won't bring back homes or lost lives, but I suppose it may stop it being so severe in future. My heart goes out to them.
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