“The walls were covered with ice and steam was coming out of the mouth.” Russians from this region have been living in frozen houses for a second week. “They fight for survival” [REPORTAŻ]

Renovation brigades in Bodajbo. Photo provided by the press office of the governor of the Irkutsk regionIgor Kobzev / Press office of the governor of the Irkutsk region

Renovation teams initially tried to heat the old water mains and lay temporary, flexible pipes in the street. However, as the mayor of Bodaybo, Yevgeny Yumashev, admitted, extreme frost made it impossible to carry out this work. Therefore, a decision was made to weld and lay a new 750 m long metal pipeline on the surface.

Heated aid points have been opened for people affected by the state of emergency – in particular families with children and seniors.

The residents themselves did not remain passive either: they set up a chat room, thanks to which they distribute water, food, heaters and blankets to each other.

Governor Igor Kobzev arrived in the freezing city only on February 6, a week after the failure. He inspected boiler rooms and repair works, also met with residents and promised to stop charging electricity bills for houses located in the state of emergency zone. At the same time, residents complained on social media that they still receive full heating and water bills.

This is just terrifying. Soon we will all heat ourselves with wood and coal. What are these tariffs anyway?

– residents write on the Internet.

While fighting the failure, another problem appeared: panic about the frozen sewage. Mayor Yumashev asked residents to, if possible, limit the use of sewage systems or at least drain warm water into them so that the pipes do not freeze even more, and to “listen literally for another day or two.”

It was only on Saturday, February 7, that a state of emergency was declared in the city at the regional level. To this day, however, many people still live in the cold, as even the authorities admit. On February 8, Governor Kobzev announced that the commission had only just approved the revised repair work plan, and the deadline for solving the problems was set for February 21. According to him, heating is currently only working in 12 houses out of 141, as well as in schools. By the evening of February 9, the authorities promised to restore heat to additional buildings.

“The walls and doors were covered with ice”

Despite the authorities' announcements about the gradual restoration of heating, residents of Bodajbo say that their houses are still cold. Dmitry admitted that the temperature in his apartment dropped below zero.

I barricaded myself in one room, wrapped myself in blankets, taped up the windows, and we sat there. We have just ordered the diesel generator – we are still waiting

– he says.

Another interviewee, Denis, says that it is only 3 degrees Celsius in his house.

— Frosts are not unusual in Bodajbo, says Olga, another resident of the city. — In winter, the temperature there often drops to minus 50 degrees Celsius.

— Specialists took measurements in our apartment. On the second floor, the temperature dropped to minus 3 degrees Celsius, he says.

The walls and doors were covered with ice, and steam was pouring from the mouth. Those who have such an opportunity heat their basements with heaters to save the heating risers. But many buildings have no basements at all

– he adds.

Olga's family moved to her grandmother's, where the temperature also does not exceed 10 degrees Celsius. People are afraid to use electric heaters – every evening there is a smell of burnt installation in the air because the network is overloaded.

Member of the renovation brigade in Bodajbo. Photo provided by the press office of the governor of the Irkutsk regionIgor Kobzev / Press office of the governor of the Irkutsk region

Svetlana, a resident of Bodaybo, said that there is still no heating in her house, although the authorities promised to restore it by the end of the day – more cracks in the heating installation are causing problems. There is also a shortage of drinking water – the family uses transported water or collects it directly from the Witim River.

There's nowhere to wash. We have been heating the sewage system with a heater in the basement for the second week now, and we buy fuel at our own expense

– he adds.

Residents describe a domino effect: to save the water supply, the water was cut off, which led to the sewage system freezing. In turn, due to defrosted and cracked radiators, heating cannot be started quickly.

— We all have frozen drains – ice standing right in the drains. Many people have had their radiators cracked, so there is still no heat. Hot water cannot be supplied to houses because the wells are frozen – says Olga.

“Absolutely unacceptable”

Governor Igor Kobzev published a recording from Bodajbo on his Telegram channel, showing the effects of the failure. He admitted that the condition of some buildings is critical.

“We saw that the houses on streets 4a, 5a and 8a were in very poor condition, and the failure only worsened the situation. It is obvious that people should not live in such conditions,” he wrote.

He announced that the residents of 24 apartments in these buildings would be relocated urgently.

Many residents of Bodajbo emphasize that interest in the city's problems appears only when the situation becomes catastrophic. In their opinion, If the condition of outdated networks had been regularly checked, this tragedy would not have occurred at all.

The people of our region are dead – they are struggling to survive in an extreme climate. It was only the inaction and indifference of the authorities towards the northern areas that led to this situation. During severe frosts, people stay in their apartments all day without heating, which is absolutely unacceptable. If such interest on the part of the governor had been constant, this failure would not have occurred

— wrote a resident of the city, Natalia, on social media.