Water is an unpredictable and volatile element. It can be unhurried and calm, and suddenly in a matter of hours turn into a devastating flood, gaining formidable irresistible power and destroying everything in its path. St. Petersburg, located at the mouth of the Neva, has gone through many such disasters over the years of its life. They undoubtedly influenced the fate of the city and its inhabitants, and many of them were reflected in painting and poetry. Let's try to figure out what caused the occurrence of this natural phenomenon, and at the same time find out what were the most destructive floods in St. Petersburg.
Causes of a huge disaster
For a long time, researchers believed that the main nature of flooding lies in the Neva itself. It was believed that the river, with a strong westerly wind, delays its rapid flow and leaves the banks. But they were mistaken. And only relatively recently, the true cause of floods in St. Petersburg was discovered. As it turned out, Atlantic cyclones were to blame. Arising in the Baltic Sea with the participation of a strong westerly wind, they cause a wave to rise, initially small and not very powerful. But, passing through the Gulf of Finland, it gains both speed and height, sometimes reaching five meters. Approaching the mouth of the Neva, the wave collides with a river current, which moves towards it. As a result, there is a rapid increase in water level, intensifying due to the small depth in the Neva Bay.
Note that floods usually come to St. Petersburg in the autumn. Now this is called the increase in water height by more than 160 cm from the normal water level. There is a certain gradation of these disasters: flooding up to 2 m 10 cm is called dangerous, up to 2 m 99 cm - especially dangerous, more than 3 m - catastrophic.
The first floods in the city
According to scientists, since the earliest times, all the land on which modern St. Petersburg stands, was periodically covered with water. Annals indicate that from 1060 to 1066, it covered its entire space with a layer of more than seven meters. Thus, the flood in St. Petersburg is an original problem, which is much older than the city itself.
Even before the creation of the settlement there, in 1691, significant flooding was recorded. In the chronicles left by the Swedes, it is said that then the entire territory of the center of the future city found itself under water, and its height reached almost eight meters. Moreover, according to the legend of fishermen, such disasters occurred here every five years.
The beginning of the history of the city and the first natural disasters
The first flood in St. Petersburg happened a few months after its creation - in the summer of 1703. At that time, the water level reached a height of more than two meters, the Bay of Hare Island. And after three years, the townspeople became eyewitnesses to a new destructive natural disaster. Peter I was also a witness. According to his descriptions, the water in his mansions rose half a meter from the floor, but did not last long in the city, for about three hours, and did not bring much trouble.
Even then, initial protective measures were taken. And in 1715, the first rail was installed near the Peter and Paul Fortress for measuring the state of water during a storm. Thanks to this device, the order of the Neva was determined. This is the usual height of water in calm weather without wind. However, in the first two decades of the 18th century, the city center was flooded no more than one and a half meters. It is worth noting that the history of floods in St. Petersburg in the XVIII century has about eighty floods, among them extremely significant.
So, in 1721 a disaster occurred, terrible in its consequences for the city. Then, many houses were flooded with flood water, and ships were taken to the sea. Total losses exceeded seven million rubles. After that, the water rose almost annually.
The most devastating of the floods of the 18th century
The worst flood in St. Petersburg in the 18th century and the most tragic in the number of people injured and killed in it happened in 1777. Two days before, a terrible storm began in the city, and on September 10, the water level exceeded three meters. Almost the whole city was flooded. Then the disaster claimed more than a thousand lives, many wooden houses appeared in the sea.
This flood in St. Petersburg completely destroyed the prison on the banks of the Neva. It contained about three hundred prisoners, and they all died. After this disaster, Catherine II began to take government measures to combat the elements. So, she issued a decree on rescue operations during the flood, as well as an order to create an alert service. In addition, a detailed city plan was developed that marked the most vulnerable areas.
Natural disaster of 1824
In the 19th century, the most powerful flood in the history of the city in St. Petersburg was noted. The year 1824 brought a terrible disaster, unprecedented in its destructive power. The day before the disaster, a southwestern wind rose, which intensified by night and grew into a formidable storm. And the next morning, November 7, the water in the Neva River exceeded the mark of 421 cm from the normal level. More than half of the territory was flooded. The flood in St. Petersburg in 1824 was noted as the most devastating in its consequences. Hundreds of people and thousands of animals became its victims, almost all wooden buildings in the water-filled part of the city were destroyed. The total damage amounted to almost twenty million rubles.
Floods in the 20th century
In the last century, the element also did not leave St. Petersburg. Floods occurring in the first twenty years, although not uncommon, were not too destructive. The exception was the disaster of 1903. At that time, the water level exceeded two and a half meters. Then the floods were first captured on film.
After this came a period of relative rest. Water did not rise very high, and flooding did not cause serious inconvenience to the inhabitants of the city. This went on until the 1924 flood in St. Petersburg. Then the water level reached almost four meters, flooded many areas of the city. The port, as well as some warehouses and factories, were seriously damaged. Water demolished 19 bridges and tumbled down hundreds of trees. Over two hundred citizens were victims of the disaster, and fifteen thousand people were forced to leave their homes. The authorities had to impose martial law. It was the largest flood in St. Petersburg in the twentieth century. After this, the element repeatedly demonstrated its violent character to the townspeople. The floods of 1955 and 1975 were also severe.
What is happening now?
The threat of flooding in St. Petersburg has remained lately. So, between 2000 and 2008 there were fourteen of them. The last major flood from the category of hazardous occurred in 2005.
Fortunately, thanks to modern defenses, serious disasters can be prevented. A special station has been created in Tallinn that tracks the occurrence of a wave. Given that it passes the Gulf of Finland in seven to nine hours, the city has time for urgent action.
How to protect your city from flooding
Over the three hundred years of the city’s existence, the most diverse floods in St. Petersburg were recorded in terms of strength and results. The history of protective structures therefore acquires special significance. As already mentioned, the first measures were taken immediately after the city was founded, and Catherine II paid serious attention to this after the flood of 1777.
In 1804, under Alexander I, the construction of the Bypass Canal began. In 1825, they announced a competition for the best project for the construction of a city defense. However, little enthusiasm subsided, and until the flood of 1890 no measures were taken. And in fact, this issue was dealt with after the disaster of 1924. A drawing of protective structures was developed, and construction began, which was supposed to be completed within four years. But repression intervened, and then war. Thus, the protective dam began to be designed in the 60s, and construction began only in 1979. It was fully commissioned only in 2011.
Now, experts in two days will learn about the approach of the wave, and five hours before the alleged storm, all passages intended for ships are closed. Thus, the city remains safe.
Display of floods in the literature
The terrible rampage of the elements, of course, impressed the creators. Because floods are brightly reflected in the culture. Probably the most famous is the description given by Alexander Pushkin in the work The Bronze Horseman. The writer reproduces in detail the flood that occurred in 1824. A little later, the writer P. P. Karatygin released his "Annals of the St. Petersburg floods of 1703-1879." A vivid depiction of the disaster of 1777 is also in the work of Dmitry Merezhkovsky, “The Kingdom of the Beast.”
