KHABAROVSK, August 22 (RIA Novosti) - The water level of the Amur River in Russia's Far Eastern city of Khabarovsk is almost one meter (3 feet) higher than the critical mark, the regional hydrometeorology monitoring service said on Wednesday.
The regional Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring said the water level in Khabarovsk was 696 centimeters (22.8 feet) on Wednesday noon. According to the service’s forecast, waters would further rise to 730-780 centimeters (24-26 feet) over the weekend.
“Waters of the Amur Rivers near Khabarovsk are some 1-1.5 meters above the critical point. This has never been documented throughout the 116-year history of meteorological observations in the area,” the service said in a statement.
The local government said the historic maximum of 642 centimeters (21 feet), last time recorded in 1897, had again been reached on Sunday.
Nearly 28,500 people have been affected by floods in three regions in Russia’s Far East - the Amur Region, the Khabarovsk Territory and the Jewish Autonomous Region - following heavy rains.
The current weather forecasts show that Amur River waters would start to subside only in late September or early October.
