St. Petersburg Floods

St. Petersburg is often threatened by floods since most of its downtown territory is located just several feet above the sea level. The founder of the city - Peter the Great - had chosen a very low place for St. Petersburg and from the very first days of the city floods became a major problem. In August, 1703, three months after the city was founded, the waters of the Neva river rose 6' high and washed away construction materials for the Peter and Paul Fortress. Over 270 big floods were registered since then.

The biggest flood occurred on November 19, 1824, when the flood waters had reached 13.5' (410 centimeters) over the usual level. On that day most of the city was flooded, between 208 and 569 people got killed and 462 houses destroyed. The second biggest flood (over 12' high) was in 1924. In some areas of the city the water stood 7-8' high and some of the ships in the port were washed ashore.

Surprisingly enough the nature of St. Petersburg floods is closely connected with... Atlantic low pressure air masses. The low pressured air moves in from the West, creating so-called "long waves" that bring extra water into the Gulf of Finland and the mouth of the Neva River. Strong Western winds effectively block the flow of water from the mighty Neva into the Gulf of Finland.

Most of the floods take place in the fall and early winter when all the negative factors combine. Since the 18th century the level of city streets had risen significantly, but some of the areas close to rivers and canals can still be seriously damaged during big floods. In the 1970s it was decided to build a long dam across the Gulf of Finland (west of St. Petersburg) which could protect the city form the disastrous floods. However, the project was not finished due to a huge environmental controversy and a lack of funding. Meanwhile, the problem is far from being solved and the people of St. Petersburg hope that by the time of the next big flood they will be ready to face such a challenge...

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