MOSCOW (Realist English). On April 7, President Vladimir Putin held a meeting on the elimination of the consequences of floods in the Republic of Dagestan. The videoconference was attended by Emergency Situations Minister Alexander Kurenkov, regional head Sergei Melikov, the heads of the most affected municipalities – Makhachkala, Derbentsky and Khasavyurt districts – as well as relevant ministers.
Record rainfall and dam breach
Opening the meeting, Putin noted that on March 30 alone, Dagestan received three months‘ worth of precipitation.
“Since meteorological observations began in 1882, such figures have never been recorded in the region,” the president stressed.
Due to the abnormal weather, on April 5, an earth dam of the Gedzhukh Reservoir burst in Derbentsky District. Residents of several settlements were evacuated; there were casualties and deaths.
Emergency Situations Minister Alexander Kurenkov reported that the cyclone formed over the Caspian Sea, accumulated a significant amount of moisture and struck Dagestan and Chechnya. In 25 settlements of Dagestan, more than 6,000 residential houses and household plots were flooded, 527 sections of roads were damaged, and power and gas supplies were disrupted. Rescuers saved more than 200 people.
“Unfortunately, six people have died,” Kurenkov stated.
Head of Dagestan: damage in the hundreds of millions, more than 60,000 birds dead
Sergei Melikov specified that up to 1.5 million residents fell into the emergency zone, taking into account 11 municipalities. A total of 6,229 people were evacuated, including 1,300 children. More than 6,000 residential buildings suffered varying degrees of damage, including apartment buildings in Makhachkala, Buynaksk and Derbent. Some 842 socially significant facilities were affected.
Power supply was disrupted in 564 settlements, gas supply in more than 7,000 homes. Significant damage was inflicted on the agricultural sector. According to Melikov, about 700 head of cattle, more than 2,200 head of small livestock and over 60,000 poultry died. The head of Dagestan also drew attention to the problem of illegal construction: “On illegally allocated land plots, in violation of all urban planning regulations, apartment buildings and individual residential buildings were built. Such development narrowed riverbeds, which caused low capacity for stormwater.”
Makhachkala: 93,000 applications and collapse of a three-story building
Makhachkala Mayor Dzhambulat Salavov reported that 3,755 residential buildings on 173 streets were flooded in the capital. More than 1,070 people were evacuated. Due to the washing away of the foundation by mudflows, a three-story building collapsed on Perova Street – casualties were avoided thanks to timely evacuation.
Four other apartment buildings were under threat of collapse. A total of 93,647 applications were received from victims, and 1,546 households were inspected. Answering the president’s question about the most acute problem, Salavov said: “A constant problem with electricity. Today, water supply and pumping stations – everything depends on electricity.” Putin ordered the Ministry of Construction and the Ministry of Energy to take additional measures and report.
Hydrometeorological Center warns of third wave of flooding from April 11
The head of Roshydromet, Alexander Kozlov, reported that a third wave of flooding will begin on April 11. It will affect the Dzhurmut and Samur rivers, as well as the mountainous areas of Botlikh, Khunzakh, Akhty, and Levashi.
A storm warning for April 10 has also been issued for Chechnya and Ingushetia – up to 60 mm of precipitation is expected there. Water from the Terek River, which will rise after rains in neighboring republics, will flow into Dagestan. Kozlov reported that seven sections of the Terek River have been washed out, and work to strengthen them must be intensified by April 11.
Government commission created, headed by Kurenkov
Summing up, Putin ordered the creation of a special government commission to deal with the aftermath of the floods in Dagestan. It will include representatives of federal authorities, regional heads, and the deputy plenipotentiary in the North Caucasus Federal District, Magomed Ramazanov, whom the president asked to move from the Far East to his small homeland. The commission will be headed by Emergency Situations Minister Alexander Kurenkov.
“I understand that some documents are missing, some are filled out incorrectly. Such issues must be resolved calmly, based on the requirements of the law, but the main task of this work should be one thing – prompt assistance to people,” Putin stressed.
He ordered the government to issue the relevant document on the same day and to report to him regularly on the progress of work.
Latest news on the floods in Dagestan (April 5–8, 2026)
April 7. The death toll from the flooding in Dagestan rose to six after the body of an elderly woman was found, the regional office of the Russian Emergency Ministry said. Up to 1.5 million people were in the disaster zone. Russian President held a videoconference meeting on flood relief efforts, at which he was told that sufficient forces and resources had been mobilised overall to deal with the aftermath of the flooding. He ordered the creation of a special government commission to deal with the aftermath, to be headed by Emergency Situations Minister Kurenkov.
The Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations reported that 6,229 people, including 1,300 children, were evacuated; 55 temporary accommodation centers were deployed with a capacity of over 1,800 people, of which about 700 people were actually accommodated; more than 200 people were rescued; over 6,000 residential buildings were damaged, including apartment buildings in Makhachkala, Buynaksk and Derbent. Power supply was disrupted in 564 settlements, gas supply in more than 7,000 homes.
More than 2,000 hectares of farmland in Khasavyurt district were damaged. The head of Dagestan, Sergei Melikov, said that 11 municipalities with up to 1.5 million citizens were placed into the emergency zone. President Putin said that he had heard reports that sufficient forces and resources had been mobilised, and thanked the rescuers and volunteers. He also said: “I understand that some documents are missing, some are filled out incorrectly. Such issues must be resolved calmly, based on the requirements of the law, but the main task of this work should be prompt assistance to people.”
The head of Roshydromet, Alexander Kozlov, reported that a third wave of flooding was expected from April 11, affecting the Dzhurmut and Samur rivers, and that a storm warning had been issued for Chechnya and Ingushetia. Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, on the instructions of the President, created a government commission to deal with the aftermath, headed by Emergencies Minister Alexander Kurenkov. Kabardino-Balkaria sent 150 tons of humanitarian cargo to Dagestan.
April 6. A new wave of torrential rain hit Dagestan, causing renewed flooding of houses, power substations and transport restrictions. The authorities declared a state of emergency in more than 10 municipalities. Local breaches in the dam of the Gedzhukh Reservoir were recorded due to overflowing water. The Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations reported that more than 4,100 people had been evacuated due to the overflowing reservoir; 28 residential buildings were flooded. Under the worst-case scenario, four settlements with more than 3,000 residential buildings and a population of over 20,000 people could be in the flood zone. Thirty-seven passengers of the Moscow-Derbent train were evacuated due to flooding on the railway line.
Traffic on the federal highway “Caucasus” in Derbentsky district was closed due to a bridge collapse caused by rising water levels. In the village of Kirki, a landslide occurred due to heavy rain: one house was completely destroyed, two others partially damaged, and the body of a woman was found during debris clearance. In Makhachkala, on Gazoprovodnaya Street, an apartment building collapsed due to flooding; the city administration also reported the threat of a similar collapse of four multi-story buildings, from which about 300 people were evacuated.
The Investigative Committee opened criminal cases following the incidents. The head of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations, Alexander Kurenkov, following a report to President Putin, ordered additional forces to be sent to Dagestan to deal with the aftermath of the flood, including 40 specialists, 6 vehicles and 5 watercraft. The aviation of the Ministry of Emergency Situations continued to monitor the situation from the air. The prosecutor’s office of Dagestan reported that floodwaters near the village of Gedzhukh on a flooded section of the federal highway had carried away several cars.
A pregnant girl and a teenager died after being rescued from a river. Three people died, including one child, and 21 people were injured. The mayor of Makhachkala reported the collapse of a three-story building on Perova Street.
The Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations stated that 6,229 people, including 1,300 children, were evacuated; 55 temporary accommodation centers were deployed with a capacity of over 1,800 people, of which about 700 were actually accommodated; 97 settlements were cut off, and 842 socially significant facilities were damaged. The death toll was reported as three people. According to the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations, 973 residential buildings, 967 household plots and 42 sections of roads in six settlements were flooded.
April 5. A dam breach occurred at the Gedzhukh Reservoir. A state of emergency was declared in Derbentsky district; the authorities began evacuating residents. Emergency services reported that the dam wall had collapsed; 28 houses were flooded in the village of Mamedkala, and about 100 people were evacuated. Heavy rains led to the reservoir overflowing, destroying the protective structure. A bridge on the federal highway “Caucasus” collapsed due to rising water levels, and the road was closed in both directions. An elderly woman died when her house collapsed due to a landslide.
The Investigative Committee opened a criminal case following the death of a 13-year-old girl who was carried away by floodwaters. An apartment building collapsed on Gazoprovodnaya Street in Makhachkala. The Ministry of Emergency Situations reported the evacuation of 37 passengers from a train on the Dagestanskiye Ogni – Mamedkala section. The Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations reported that the situation was aggravated by the breach of the dam of the Gedzhukh Reservoir, which led to the flooding of private residential buildings in the settlement of Mamedkala, and also restricted traffic on the federal highway “Caucasus”.
It was reported that the dam could have been breached due to heavy rains, wet soil, and excessively rapid water flows on vast treeless slopes. Scientists from the Russian Academy of Sciences suggested that the old age of the dam played a decisive role in its failure.
The Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations stated that more than 200 people had been rescued, but six people had died. Sergei Melikov, the head of Dagestan, said that the emergency zone covered 11 municipalities with up to 1.5 million residents, that 6,229 people had been evacuated, including 1,300 children, and that the region had deployed 55 temporary accommodation centers. Damage to the agricultural sector was estimated at 250 million rubles.