The accumulations of ice cream in Neris, near the Kleboniškis bridge, are alarming: Kaunas residents fear a new flood

Inhabitants on the banks of the Neris

The newsroom of the portal “Kas vyksta Kaunas” captured the ice that had started to form on the Neris river due to the cold, the flow of which near the Kleboniškis bridge begins to clog due to the artificially narrowed channel. And although there are almost no residential houses on the nearby shores, or they are found on the high slopes of the Neris, the inhabitants of the settlements located beyond the shore are aware of how threatening the water element can be.

The last time, Neris showed his power to the inhabitants of Radikiai and Salupiai. On the night of early February 2016, around 50 buildings were flooded in the garden communities of the Salupiai settlement. As the “What’s Going on Kaunas” portal wrote at the time, some people pumped water from basements all night, moving cars from courtyards to a safer location. Those who lived in the Guldynai settlement also suffered for a couple of days, and the situation was actively monitored in Radikiai and Kleboniškis on the other shore. At that time, no major human intervention was needed: the ice cream naturally sailed Nerimi to Kaunas and finally to the Nemunas.

During the so-called Great Flood of 2010, the situation was much more dramatic than in 2016. In that year, those who lived on the shores of Kleboniškis and its accesses were particularly affected.

“The giant ice cream” passed “through the territories of the inhabitants, broke fences, trees, it was very scary,” says DZ, who lives near Kleboniškis, on the territory of the Naujasodis garden community (author’s note: the committee publisher knows the identity). According to the woman, her house is a little further from the shore, behind the street, but the water was already flooded and her truck had to cross a flooded section when the water hit the car’s headlights. “I was expecting my second child at the time, my daughter was little, we really experienced a lot of fear,” she says.

Fortunately, the flooding of these people’s houses was only partially flooded – the water above the basement did not rise. “But if there was a one-story house, the first floor would be submerged,” says the woman. According to her, the garden community has been operating on that parcel for 20 years and no one had ever seen a flood like that before.

“You can’t imagine what the sound was like, I’d say, you could imagine the end of the world,” says a Kaunas resident who hasn’t forgotten about negative emotions even after a decade.

Another family living in Kleboniškis says they have suffered further material losses. Two cars in his garage were drowned during the flood.

“When we realized what was going on, I was still running into the garage, sitting down, the actual water had risen about two feet, so I sat down to the ball. I managed to start a car that was brand new, but drove close, to the first sex of the ice, which “went” into plot territory, “says RS from Kaunas (author’s note: identity is known to editorial committee According to the man, the losses were later partially offset by insurance, but both cars were seriously damaged. “The garage was covered because it was at the rear of the lot, we were glad that the water from the house did not reach and We stayed healthy, “said the man. Now these neighbors fear the floods less, since 3-4 years ago their house began to form a cobbled slope, which, possibly, will protect their territory from the glacier.” As far as I know , there are plans to build new houses there, but the slope is artificially formed, it’s hard to say how it would withstand a flood, but it’s really safer for us to live now, “he says.

Neris flood stories

The hydrologist Aleksandras Kajutis has declared to the GRYNAS.lt portal that major floods have always been a real natural disaster for people. “Sangrūdas form suddenly and the water rises within minutes, often at night. In the pre-war period, it was not even possible to predict when and where the flood would occur. During major floods, houses were flooded, dependencies were removed and there were casualties. Now, due to climate change, winters have softened and floods often do not occur, “said A. Kajutis.

According to the specialist, the last major flood in Lithuania was in 1979, later there were no major floods. The floods were much bigger before: the biggest known flood in our history was in 1958. Judging from the current scale, it was catastrophic in places, near Druskininkai and in the lower reaches of the Nemunas in general.

The biggest flooding on the Neris was recorded in 1931, when there was more snow in the Neris basin at that time than elsewhere: “At that time, ships were sailing in Vilnius Cathedral Square and Tilto Street was also underwater. Kaunas also suffered greatly in 1946 and 1952. The floods were caused by large agglomerations of ice on the Neris; the Neris is a faster river than the Nemunas, so the glacier started earlier in the Neris. The ice cream flowed into the Nemunas, which were still frozen at the time. This caused great floods ”, said the hydrologist.

To be decided by the Emergency Commission

Due to the threats posed by the glacier and the artificially narrowed river bed due to the construction of the bridge, the portal “What’s Happening in Kaunas” submitted a request to the SE Inland Waterways Directorate (VVKD). Aurelijus Rimas, VVKD shipping director, who responded to questions, confirmed that a temporary embankment had been installed during the construction of the bridge, which could negatively affect (especially during floods or glaciers) the rise of the water level.

“This can negatively affect not only the hydrological regime of the river, but also the navigation conditions, so the embankment will have to be removed and VVKD will assess the situation at the beginning of this year’s sailing season”, says A. Rimas . Once the construction works are completed, the street in the bridge construction area must be orderly and navigable, the bridge will be marked with navigation signs. After the construction of the bridge, the transfer of the river section to the inland waterway manager (in this case VVKD) is also provided for in the Inland Waterways Transport Code of the Republic of Lithuania.

“However, due to other possible negative consequences due to the ongoing construction of the bridge, the contractor is responsible for the provisions of the Construction Law and other statutes. Therefore, the contractor must ensure that all necessary measures are implemented to avoid negative consequences, ”said VVKD in a positive comment.

Giedrė Samulionytė – Lekavičienė, the communications representative of the company (Kauno tiltai) AB (contractor) carrying out the works (contractor), stated that the works are continuing and the situation is being implemented. Follow up on Nery. According to the representative, a meeting of the Kaunas District Municipality’s Emergency Situations Commission is scheduled for Wednesday, where measures to avoid ice congestion on the part of the A. Meškinis bridge under construction will be considered.