Arctic Uluses of Yakutia in Natural Emergencies: Social Challenges and Experience of Confrontation

Boyakova Sardana Il'inichna ORCID: 0000-0001-6067-6385 Doctor of History chief science officer of the Department of History and Arctic Studies, Institute of Humanitarian Researches and Indigenous Studies of the North SB RAS 677027, Russia, Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), Yakutsk, 1, Petrovsky str. boyakova@mail.ru Filippova Viktoriia Viktorovna ORCID: 0000-0002-3900-918X PhD in History Senior Researcher of the Department of History and Arctic Studies, Institute of Humanitarian Researches and Indigenous Studies of the North SB RAS 677027, Russia, Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), Yakutsk, Petrovsky str., 1 filippovav@mail.ru

Vinokurova Liliya Innokent'evna ORCID: 0000-0002-5779-6893 PhD in History Leading Researcher of the Department of History and Arctic Studies, Institute of Humanitarian Researches and Indigenous Studies of the North SB RAS 677027, Russia, Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), Yakutsk, Petrovsky str., 1 lilivin@mail.ru

The problems of global climate change, adaptation to its negative consequences, including the extreme and emergency situations caused by it, have been in the focus of attention of the world community in recent decades. International monitoring of the cryolithozone and ecosystems of the North, in which the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) occupies a central place, shows that one of the fastest and most significant climate changes on Earth is currently taking place in the Russian Arctic: in the last few decades, the average annual temperature in the region has been growing twice as fast as in the rest of the world, causing widespread melting of sea ice, permafrost and reduction of the snow season ^{[14, pp. 197-222]}.

Global climatic changes caused the intensification of natural emergencies on the territory of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) in the late XX – early XXI centuries. As a result of the analysis of the annual State reports on the state and environmental protection of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), compiled on the basis of data provided by the Yakut Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring Department, the following natural hazards can be recorded on the territory of the republic: hydrological (mainly associated with high water levels), meteorological (severe blizzard, strong wind, heavy snow, heavy rain, heavy downpour, prolonged heavy rain, intense heat, extreme fire danger), agrometeorological (severe dry weather, frost, soil drought, high snow, atmospheric drought) and dangerous geophysical phenomena (Table 1). There are differences in the accounting of natural hazards in these yearbooks, which is due to changes in the structure and content of the report in 2014-2015.

Table 1

Natural hazards recorded on the territory of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) for 2010-2020.

Compiled by: State reports on the state and environmental protection of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) for 2010-2020.

The main source of natural emergencies with high risk are hydrological phenomena, among which floods are distinguished, mainly due to spring flooding with the formation of congestion. Thus, over a ten-year period, 34 dangerous hydrological cases were recorded in the RS (Ya), of which 26 cases are associated with high water levels, and only 6 cases are associated with low water levels in 2019.

An alarming trend of the last decade has been the intensification of emergency situations in the Arctic regions of Yakutia. In 2010, on January 17-18, a strong blizzard was observed in Tiksi with an average wind speed of 20-22 m/s and visibility of less than 500 m, lasting 20 hours and 50 minutes, on December 16-17, the Sannikov marine hydrometeorological station and the Kotelny aerological station registered a strong blizzard with an average speed of 20-25 m/s, gusts up to 31 m/s and visibility less than 500 m, lasting 24 hours; on December 24-25, a severe snowstorm was observed in Tiksi Bay at an average speed of 2227 m/s and visibility less than 500 m, lasting about 36 hours, the maximum wind speed reached 3537 m/s. Severe heat was recorded on July 17 in Ust-Yansky, Verkhoyansky and Tomponsky, on July 14-19 in Ust-Yansky, Momsky, Oymyakonsky, Srednekolymsky, Verkhnekolymsky, on July 25-30 – in Oymyakonsky and Verkhnekolymsky districts ^{[4, p. 85]}.

In June-July 2014, 2 emergencies occurred due to dangerous hydrological phenomena. This is a rain flood on the Kolyma River in the period from May 25 to June 13, 2014. As a result, 2 settlements (the village of Zyryanka and the village of Verkhnekolymsk) in the Verkhnekolymsky district were in the flooding zone. 179 courtyards with a population of 2,294 people were flooded, 459 of them children, including 26 residential buildings, in which 236 people live, 49 of them children. And also the runway of Zyryanka airport, 4 boiler houses, 3900 m of heating mains were flooded ^{[5, p. 77-78]}.

In autumn and in the first half of winter 2016, an extremely large amount of precipitation fell on Kolyma, in the Ust-Yansky district, in the lower and middle reaches of the Indigirka River ^{[6, p. 64.]}. According to the results of 2015, 2016, natural emergencies were not registered on the territory of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia).

According to the results of 2017, 1 emergency of a natural nature of the municipal level was registered on the territory of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) (APPG – 0 emergency (+100.0%)), there were no deaths in an emergency (APPG – 0), 184 people were injured (APPG – 0 emergency (+100.0%)). As a result of the increase in the water level in the Berezovka river, an emergency situation was registered in the village of Berezovka of the Srednekolymsky district, associated with the flooding of 34 residential buildings and 34 courtyard territories in which 184 people lived, including 59 children, as well as 7 socially significant objects (Kindergarten, DES, hospital, ECC "Ilin", administration, PBX, boiler room). In total, 40 people, 18 units of equipment, including 12 people from the Ministry of Emergency Situations, 2 watercraft were involved in the liquidation of the emergency situation. All emergency response services have worked in full. By order of the city administration of the Ministry of Defense "Berezovsky National (Nomadic) Nasleg" dated 21.05.2017, the "Emergency situation" regime was introduced for No. 64, 08.06.2017 by order No. 72 this regime was lifted ^{[7, p. 67]}.

According to the results of 2018, 2 natural emergencies were registered on the territory of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia). In total, since the beginning of the spring flood on the territory of the republic, 37 settlements in 14 uluses (districts), including the Arctic ones, have suffered from the negative impact of water bodies on the Lena, Aldan, Amga, Kolyma and small rivers, including the Arctic ones: Nizhnekolymsky, Verkhnekolymsky, Srednekolymsky. 1,425 residential buildings in 46 settlements, in which 5,101 people lived, were flooded. In addition, during the spring flood, 664 people were urgently evacuated by aircraft, 349 of them children, 1049 people, including 279 children, were sent to temporary accommodation facilities. Also, since the beginning of the summer-autumn floods on the territory of the republic, 5 settlements in two uluses (districts) have suffered from the negative impact of water bodies on the Alazeya and Indigirka rivers: Srednekolymsky and Oymyakonsky. In total, 57 residential buildings in 5 settlements were flooded, in which 232 people live, including 46 children. An emergency situation was recorded related to the separation of an ice floe with eight fishermen, near the Bolshoy Lyakhovsky Island of the Bulunsky district. With the help of the use of the Mi-8 HACC of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia, all 8 people were removed from the ice floe and delivered to P.Ust-Kuiga of Ust-Yansky district for further medical care ^{[8, p. 71]}.

In 2020, 32 settlements in 12 municipalities were affected by the negative impact of water bodies in 2020 on the territory of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia). Flooded in total: 45 residential buildings, in which 144 people live; 148 suburban areas; 115 yard territories. Municipal and republican highways, as well as dams for various purposes, were washed away, intra-village streets (roads) were flooded, runways of 2 airports were flooded. A dangerous hydrological phenomenon – low water level on the rivers of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) was observed in the Arctic zone – in the estuary section of the river.Yana at the village of Nizhneyansk, on September 4, the water level at the village of Nizhneyansk dropped to 38 cm, which is 82 cm lower than the design mark limiting navigation ^{[9, p. 52]}.

Every year the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) incurs huge material costs to eliminate the consequences of extreme natural disasters. So, only the amount of damage after the flood of 2017 in Srednekolymsky ulus, where four settlements (the villages of Argakhtakh, Berezovka, Svatai, Nalimsk) suffered from the negative impact of water bodies, amounted to 118 million 719.72 thousand rubles.

Considerable funds were spent on protective and restoration work.  In the city of Srednekolymsk, for the purpose of preventive measures, work was carried out to raise the level to 13 m of intra-village streets: Shopping, 220 m long, Nikolaev, 350 m long, Embankment, 375 m long in the amount of 9,306.1 thousand rubles. At the expense of the Ministry of Transport and Road Facilities of the RS (Ya). At the expense of the Ministry of Nature Protection of the RS (Ya), the level of the dam with a length of 780 m was raised by 14 m in the amount of 3 680.6 thousand rubles. The total amount of work performed amounted to 12 986.7 thousand rubles.^[13].

In 2017, 65,239 thousand rubles were allocated from the Reserve Fund of the Government of the RS (Ya) to eliminate the consequences of flooding in the village of Berezovka of the Srednekolymsky ulus (district). They were spent on the deployment of a temporary accommodation facility for evacuated residents, on carrying out rescue operations, providing one-time material and financial assistance in connection with the loss of property (5,015 thousand rubles, including 1,255 thousand rubles for providing citizens with one-time material assistance in connection with the loss of essential property; 3,760 thousand rubles. – to provide financial assistance to citizens in connection with the loss of their essential property). Six intra-village roads and 15 apartment buildings were repaired for a total amount of 35 million 621 thousand rubles. Assistance was provided with construction materials to residents of the village for the restoration of 21 private residential buildings totaling 5 million 453.48 thousand rubles. The heating season was extended to dry the flooded facilities. The amount of expenses amounted to 161,710 thousand rubles. Also, 1,387,0 thousand rubles were allocated from the reserve fund of the Ministry of Defense "Srednekolymsky Ulus (district)" to eliminate the consequences of the flood ^[13].

Table 2

Emergencies caused by flooding in the territories of the Arctic regions of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) for 2013-2017.

Compiled by: Information on the amount of damage caused as a result of floods in the territories of the northern and Arctic regions of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) for 2013-2017. // Current archive of the Standing Committee on Indigenous Peoples of the North and Arctic Affairs of the State Assembly (Il Tumen) The Republic of Sakha (Yakutia).

To eliminate the consequences of 27 emergencies in the Arctic regions of Yakutia caused by floods in 2013, 2014 and 2017. (table. 2), 1072.347 million rubles were spent, including from the funds of the Russian Federation – 143.705 million rubles, the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) – 928.207 million rubles, municipalities – 435 thousand rubles ^[11].

Thus, it is already possible to state an increase in the number of dangerous hydrological, meteorological, geophysical, phenomena that cause serious socio-economic problems. This should also include an increase in the costs of preventing and eliminating the consequences of another natural disaster – forest fires.

Table 3

Dynamics of the number of fires and the forest area covered by fires in 2010-2020.

Compiled by:     Statistical Yearbook of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) for 2012, Statistical Yearbook of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) for 2017, Statistical Yearbook of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) for 2020 ^{[15, 16, 17]}

As can be seen from Table 3, the number of wildfires increased by 15.7 times during the period under review. The forest area covered by fires directly depends on this indicator, which has expanded 72.2 times in 10 years.

Possible social risks due to climate change include the destruction of buildings, roads, pipelines and other infrastructure facilities due to the melting of permafrost; collapse of the coastline, especially in settlements located on the banks of rivers and other reservoirs; changes in transport schemes due to later freezing and early opening of rivers and lakes, complications due to with this, the work of winter workers has added new ones associated with an increase in especially dangerous natural phenomena: an increase in the costs of preventing and eliminating the consequences of natural disasters (floods, forest fires); a change in the structure of settlement as a result of resettlement and migration of the population; an increase in losses of agricultural production.

Natural disasters that have profound consequences for almost all aspects of human life naturally attract the attention of researchers of various specialties – from psychologists to ecologists. In this regard, the development of this issue in relation to Yakutia was no exception. A fairly wide range of its aspects is considered in the works of anthropologists, sociologists, economists, geographers, hydrogeologists, representatives of other scientific disciplines and practitioners ^{[1, 2, 3, 12, 18, 19]}.

The greatest concern is the vulnerability of the indigenous peoples of the North due to changes in their traditional life support systems, which are still based on the natural landscape environment of their habitat.

So, in the winter of 2016-2017, emergency situations were declared in the Abyy, Srednekolymsky, Nizhnekolymsky and Ust-Yansky uluses due to heavy wet snowfalls in October, rains in November 2016. Then, due to thaws and thin ice, winter roads, usually opening in December–January, were not opened until February 2017. Taking into account the formation of ice and ice crust on the snow, reindeer herding farms were forced to change the grazing routes of deer in November. There was a large departure of young deer in Nizhnekolymsky, Srednekolymsky and Ust-Yansk ulus from stomatitis and exhaustion.

The unproductive waste of deer in 2017 amounted to 41729 heads, including 6283 heads of deaths, 12881 grass and 22355 heads of losses.  Compared to 2016, the share of unproductive deer waste increased by 34%. The reason for this was mass miscarriages and the departure of tuguts in the spring-summer period of 2017 and young animals in the Ust-Yansky and Kolyma group of districts due to heavy wintering due to the formation of ice crusts after the above-mentioned wet snowfalls and rain in October and November 2016-2017, large snowfalls throughout the winter period with the formation of deep snow cover, significantly complicated the possibilities of proper nutrition of deer ^[10].

The history of the Arctic peoples has many examples of successful adaptation to the effects of negative phenomena related to weather and climate, especially floods and droughts.  Nevertheless, additional adaptation measures are currently required at the regional and local levels to reduce the adverse effects of climate change, the pace of which is growing at a proactive pace in high latitudes, even compared to other regions of the Earth. These measures could reduce the vulnerability of indigenous peoples to climate change, both in the short and long term.

Natural and climatic changes and related emergencies multiply and exacerbate the existing social, economic and environmental problems of the indigenous peoples of the North and, thus, can be recognized as a threat to the safety of their livelihoods. It is necessary to introduce constant monitoring of climate changes in the region, timely warning of the population about the risks of emergencies, the use of new technologies during construction in places exposed to constant flooding, the restoration of the deposited cargo system, which allowed  it would avoid huge costs in the aftermath of emergencies. An important point in the organization of further restoration work is the work to eliminate the damage caused to the agricultural sector as the main source of employment of the population and family income.

In order to reduce the impact of the negative consequences of climate change and, above all, the occurrence of natural emergencies, on the socio-economic development, health and traditional life support systems of the population of the North, it is necessary to develop comprehensive measures aimed at preventing and compensating for all the above problems:

• To create a system for assessing climate change in the region, including ethnoecological monitoring with the participation of representatives of indigenous peoples leading a traditional way of life.
• Expand fundamental and applied scientific research on the impact of global climate change on the health and lifestyle of the population, including the inclusion of targeted integrated programs "The impact of climate change on the health of the population of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)" and "The impact of climate change on the socio-economic and socio-cultural development of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)", where separate sections should be devoted to the indigenous small peoples of the North;
• To develop a regional program to assess the current state of pastures of domestic and wild reindeer. Prepare a strategy for the conservation of tundra populations of wild reindeer.     
• To prepare and approve, following the example of the "Climate Doctrine of the Russian Federation" (2009), its own "Climate Doctrine of the RS (Ya)", where special attention is paid to measures to prevent and mitigate the negative effects of climate change on the population of the republic.
•  To minimize the adverse (environmental, economic, socio-cultural) consequences of climate change, to develop a "Strategy for the development of adaptation measures for climate change", with a separate line highlighting the financing of measures to protect the traditional way of life and management systems of indigenous peoples of the North. 
• The Government of the RS (Ya) should consider organizing the deposited delivery of goods to the Arctic regions, including the creation of a 2-3-year reserve of fuel and energy resources, construction materials, vital food, medicines.
• When forming the state budget of the RS (I), provide for the allocation of funds for coastal protection works of the RS. Lena, Yana, Indigirka, Kolyma and Alazei, as well as for the purchase of snow removal equipment for the State Enterprise "Roads of the Arctic" in order to accelerate the opening of winter roads.
• Develop measures to disseminate knowledge among the indigenous peoples of the North about the impact of global climate change and achieve social partnership in solving these problems.
• Prepare training programs and conduct a series of information and training activities among the population at risk on the forms and methods of preparation and protection in cases of natural emergencies.