Bodaybo Residents Endure -40°C Without Heating or Water
Residents of Bodaybo, where a utility accident has left more than 1,300 people without heating and water, have told how they are surviving in their homes in -40°C (-40°F) frost. The temperature in their apartments does not rise above +10°C (50°F) even with heaters turned on.
As local resident Yulianna told an IrCity journalist, this morning the temperature in her home was only +9°C (48°F), and outside there was a severe frost. The windows were covered with a thick layer of frost, and the same was true for some walls. Even a heater doesn«t help. The girl sent a photo from her home to the editorial office.
«It»s cold outside, and the power is turned off for short intervals and then turned back on. Nizhnyaya Sadovaya Street has no power, and people have neither heating nor electricity. Good people are bringing water and hot food to those without power. It«s horrible,» Yulianna told us.
She sent her child to stay with her brother for the time being because his apartment is warm, but she stayed home with the cat to prevent her home from freezing. Moreover, Yulianna has to take care of her grandfather and grandmother, who live two houses down from her.
«So I run back and forth, trying to help them and not let my own house freeze. We are freezing in our own homes. I wrote about this in the governor»s chat, but all I get are formal replies. I don«t know how we are going to survive,» the interviewee admitted.
To avoid freezing, Yulianna puts on several layers of warm clothing and walks around the house in winter boots. She also has to sleep in her clothes and wraps herself in three blankets.
In the local Telegram channel «BS | Bodaybo City,» people are also complaining about the cold in their homes, and some are sending photos of thermometers and frozen windows. Residents also say they are having problems even with delivered water.
«They promised water delivery at 10:00, but where are we supposed to put it? We don»t have containers for that. It«s gotten cold even with the heaters...» writes Elena Drozdova.
Another Elena notes that they at least had some water yesterday, but by evening nothing was running.
«My house is supplied by a branch that has frozen. Things were bad but manageable, and water was running yesterday. I came home from work and stocked up on water for my needs. I was ready to help those in need, but at 10:30 p.m. our water also ran out,» the woman reports.
Moreover, residents note that electricity is being turned off and on in different parts of the city. Short-term outages were recorded on Sadovaya, Lytkinskaya, and Razvedchikov streets.
«Electricity is being turned off due to overload in the 0.4 kV networks. Repair teams from »Vitimenergo« are promptly restoring power. Please report any outages immediately via the hotline 8-800-301-33-53,» wrote a user named Dmitry in the chat.
«A tough test of our city»s survival reserves,« comments Igor Zhzhenykh.
Recall that Bodaybo has been experiencing problems with heating and hot water for the third day. The central water supply has frozen, leaving more than 1,300 people without heat. Governor Igor Kobzev called the situation in the city «critical», sending his first deputy Roman Kolesov and Minister of Housing Policy and Energy Anatoly Nikitin there. In the city a state of emergency has been declared since January 31.
