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Flood in Dagestan and the Gedzhukh reservoir breach

Makhachkala, Khasavyurt and Derbent districts and other parts of Dagestan · 28 Mar 2026 · Flood

Heavy rain on 28 March and 5 April 2026 flooded parts of Dagestan; on 5 April the earth embankment of the Gedzhukh reservoir near Mamedkala breached. According to the Head of Dagestan, six people died, three of them children. On 9 April the situation was classed as an emergency of federal character.

Official figures

Dead
6
as of 7 Apr 2026 · archive copy
Of them children
3
as of 7 Apr 2026 · archive copy

First version and outcome

What officials and state media named as the cause, those responsible and the toll in the first three days, and what investigators and courts later established. Side by side, with no assessment of ours.

First wave: rain of 27–29 March. First three days: 28 Mar 2026 to 31 Mar 2026

  1. 28 Mar 2026, 13:24 Moscow time · CauseMakhachkala city administration; the Emergencies Ministry's Dagestan directorate: On Zarechnaya Street, rainwater built up and rose because the drainage ditch was clogged with debris.
  2. 28 Mar 2026, 15:54 Moscow time · CauseSergei Melikov, Head of the Republic of Dagestan: But the blow of the elements proved stronger than the most pessimistic forecasts.
  3. 28 Mar 2026, 18:44 Moscow time · CauseMakhachkala city administration: The storm-drain system could not take the critical load, although utilities had prepared and cleaned it in advance, the administration said.
  4. 28 Mar 2026, 19:55 Moscow time · CauseSergei Melikov, Head of the Republic of Dagestan: Again the same problem that has been getting worse here for years: illegal building, including in protected zones
  5. 31 Mar 2026, 17:03 Moscow time · CauseIgor Shumakov, head of Roshydromet, the federal weather service: We issued storm warnings for Dagestan, Chechnya and North Ossetia, 48 to 60 hours in advance

Second wave: rain of 4–5 April and the reservoir breach. First three days: 5 Apr 2026 to 8 Apr 2026

  1. 5 Apr 2026, 21:37 Moscow time · CauseMinistry of Emergencies: Heavy rainfall overfilled the reservoir, and as a result the earth embankment breached.
  2. 6 Apr 2026, 00:32 Moscow time · TollHead of Dagestan's Regional Management Centre: Unfortunately, there are two deaths
  3. 6 Apr 2026, 13:12 Moscow time · ResponsibilitySergei Melikov, Head of the Republic of Dagestan: We need to find out who permitted the building of these houses and who permitted blocks of flats built on plots meant for individual houses to be put into use.
  4. 7 Apr 2026, 16:45 Moscow time · TollAlexander Kurenkov, Minister of Emergencies: Units of the Emergencies Ministry rescued more than 200 people. Unfortunately, six people died.
  5. 7 Apr 2026, 16:45 Moscow time · CauseAlexander Kurenkov, Minister of Emergencies: Unlike the typical pattern, when cyclones form over the Black Sea and cross the Caucasus range, this cyclone formed over the Caspian Sea, where it took up a large amount of moisture.
  6. 7 Apr 2026, 16:45 Moscow time · CauseVladimir Putin, President of Russia: Because of abnormal weather, on 5 April the earth embankment of the Gedzhukh reservoir in Derbent district breached.
  7. 7 Apr 2026, 16:45 Moscow time · CauseSergei Melikov, Head of the Republic of Dagestan: Blocks of flats and individual houses were built on illegally allocated plots in breach of all planning rules. Such building narrowed riverbeds and drainage channels, which was largely why they could not carry large volumes of rainwater.

Later: investigation, courts, official findings

  1. 10 Apr 2026, 17:39 Moscow time · ResponsibilityVolga Interregional Environmental Prosecutor's Office: It was established that the owner and the organisations using the Gedzhukh reservoir on the Darvagchai river did not ensure the safe operation of the dam, which led to its breach, an uncontrolled release of water and the flooding of the surrounding area, including settlements
  2. 10 Apr 2026, 22:47 Moscow time · ResponsibilityInvestigative Committee of Russia: According to investigators, officials of the organisation running the dams in Derbent district did not keep the structure in proper technical condition and did not remedy the violations found.
  3. 12 Apr 2026, 13:02 Moscow time · ResponsibilitySovetsky District Court of Makhachkala: According to the material submitted to the court, the tenant and operator of the dam, despite the unsatisfactory state of the structures recorded in the safety declaration and numerous violations, did not fix the defects for a long time and gave the supervisory body false information about the structure's condition, the court said.
  4. 12 Apr 2026, 17:27 Moscow time · ResponsibilityInvestigative Committee of Russia: According to investigators, the suspect did not ensure that safety requirements were met, did not organise proper monitoring of the structure's condition and took no steps to remedy the violations found.
  5. 14 Apr 2026, 21:55 Moscow time · CauseSergei Melikov, Head of the Republic of Dagestan: This situation is indeed extraordinary: the volume of rain that put the Gedzhukh dam at risk is above all a natural phenomenon.

Timeline: key decisions

Decrees, resignations, appointments, verdicts, laws and memorials. All statements, inspections, cases and money are in the full timeline.

  1. 28 Mar 2026, 13:24 Moscow timeDecree or resolution. Makhachkala city administration; the Emergencies Ministry's Dagestan directorate: Makhachkala's authorities declared a city emergency. The Emergencies Ministry said Zarechnaya Street flooded because a drainage ditch was clogged with debris.
    “On Zarechnaya Street, rainwater built up and rose because the drainage ditch was clogged with debris.”
    Интерфакс, archive copy
  2. 29 Mar 2026, 10:55 Moscow timeDecree or resolution. Khasavyurt district administration: Khasavyurt district declared an emergency from 21:00 on 28 March.
    “The emergency was declared in Khasavyurt district by a resolution of the acting head of the district administration.”
    Интерфакс, archive copy
  3. 30 Mar 2026, 20:50 Moscow timeDecree or resolution. Sergei Melikov, Head of the Republic of Dagestan: By Decree No. 52 Melikov classed the emergency as regional and declared it in three districts and five cities from 30 March.
    “The Head of Dagestan Sergei Melikov signed a decree declaring a regional emergency in a number of the republic's municipalities where the consequences of the bad weather are felt most, the head's press service said on Monday.”
    Интерфакс, archive copy
  4. 7 Apr 2026, 23:25 Moscow timeDecree or resolution. Mikhail Mishustin, Prime Minister of Russia: By Order No. 768-r Mishustin set up a Government commission headed by Kurenkov.
    “Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin set up a Government commission on the consequences of the floods in Dagestan.”
    Правительство России, archive copy
  5. 9 Apr 2026, 18:53 Moscow timeDecree or resolution. Government commission for emergencies (chaired by Alexander Kurenkov): The Government commission classed the situation in Dagestan and Chechnya as an emergency of federal character.
    “The Government commission for emergencies, chaired by Emergencies Minister Alexander Kurenkov, classed the situation in the flooded republics of Dagestan and Chechnya as an emergency of federal character, Interfax's correspondent reported on Thursday.”
    Интерфакс, archive copy
  6. 10 Apr 2026, 18:52 Moscow timeResignation. Judicial Qualification Board of Dagestan: The board ended, at her own request, the powers of judge Patimat Makhatilova. According to the courts' press service, in 2013 she legalised the building on Aivazovsky Street that partly collapsed in April.
    “The powers of judge Patimat Makhatilova of the Sovetsky District Court of Makhachkala have been ended on her written application, on her retirement on 30 April 2026”
    Интерфакс, archive copy
  7. 6 May 2026, 17:48 Moscow timeAppointment. Fyodor Shchukin, acting Head of the Republic of Dagestan: Fyodor Shchukin, appointed acting Head of Dagestan by presidential decree on 4 May, was introduced to the republic's authorities. He called support for every victim the main current task.
    “He stressed that no affected person should be left without support, calling this the main current task.”
    Глава Республики Дагестан, пресс-центр, archive copy

Full timeline: 68 entries, 28 Mar 2026 to 6 Oct 2026 →

Promises after the emergency

Every promise made after the event is a card in the promise ledger, with its status from documents.

Money

  1. 14 Apr 2026, 21:55 Moscow time₽1,567,500 to family members for each person killed — Melikov listed the payments under the federal rules; families of the dead receive 1,567,500 roubles for each person killed.
  2. 30 Apr 2026, 16:25 Moscow time₽423,381,075 — The Emergencies Ministry said 9,878 people in Dagestan had been paid 423.4 million roubles.
  3. 3 Jun 2026₽3bn — Orders No. 1351-r and 1352-r allocated almost 3 billion roubles to repair and replace damaged kindergartens, schools and colleges in Dagestan and Chechnya.
  4. 25 Jun 2026, 15:15 Moscow time₽2.5bn — Order No. 1609-r directed almost 2.5 billion roubles to repairing dams, clearing riverbeds and temporary embankments in Dagestan and Chechnya.
  5. 28 Jun 2026, 11:00 Moscow time₽385m — Over 385 million roubles went to Dagestan and Chechnya to reimburse their payments to victims.
  6. 11 Jul 2026, 11:00 Moscow time₽3.8bn — Order No. 1791-r gave Dagestan more than 3.8 billion roubles for payments to people whose homes were damaged or lost.
  7. 31 Jul 2026, 10:00 Moscow time₽1bn — Over 1 billion roubles went to Dagestan and Chechnya for payments to victims.
  8. 19 Aug 2026, 09:00 Moscow time₽0.5bn — About 0.5 billion roubles went to Dagestan to reimburse payments; in all, the Government says more than 12 billion roubles have been allocated to the two republics.

Attention over time

How many times the event's article in the Russian Wikipedia was read: every day for the first 90 days, and every month since.

First 90 days: views a day
01,0002,0003,0004,000day 1day 15day 30day 45day 60day 75day 90First 90 days: views a day
By month: views a month
010,00020,00030,00040,0002026By month: views a month
Views on selected days
DayDateViews
day 128 Mar 20260
day 229 Mar 20260
day 330 Mar 20260
day 73 Apr 2026434
day 1410 Apr 20262,919
day 3026 Apr 2026505
day 6026 May 2026135
day 9025 Jun 202670
Views by year (to 30 Sep 2026)
YearViews
202650,094

Independent estimateWikimedia Pageviews API: Просмотры статьи «Наводнение в Дагестане (2026)»; people only, known bots excluded; views of redirects to the article are not counted, there are few. The figures are Wikimedia's own count, by its published method. archive copy

This measures readers' interest, not media coverage. The Wikipedia article appeared on 30 March, so the first wave barely shows in the data. The number of state and other media articles per day is not measured yet.

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