Dagestani villagers complained of serious damage from flooding.

The flooding caught residents of the Khasavyurt district by surprise, forcing them to hastily evacuate, abandoning their belongings, villagers said. In the first days of the flooding, difficulties arose in organizing aid for the victims, according to the Association of Charitable Foundations of Dagestan.

As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," on April 9, the state of emergency in effect in Dagestan and Chechnya due to the flooding situation was raised from regional to federal.

Victims described the flood cleanup efforts by fellow villagers

The first flooding on March 28th was unexpected in its scale for local residents, Ali, a resident of the village of Tutlar, told a Caucasian Knot correspondent on April 10th.

According to him, there was a warning about heavy rainfall, but no one expected such a turn of events. Ali linked the severe consequences to the state of the Yuzbash Canal, which, he claims, has long been in need of reconstruction. "The embankment collapsed in places, and the canal itself was practically level with the river," the man said.

According to Ali, the water began to rise very quickly on the evening of March 28. First, it flooded vegetable gardens, and soon the water was flowing into yards and houses. He had to urgently evacuate his children and family and then return. The villagers, Ali said, dug their own ditches that night to divert the flow. He estimates that this, along with the work of a local resident operating an excavator, saved some houses from even more severe consequences.

He noted that in the first hours after the disaster, assistance was provided primarily by fellow villagers and people who arrived in their own equipment. He said the evacuation was carried out with the help of ordinary people, not specialized services. However, he did not claim that government officials were completely absent: according to him, "administration representatives showed up the very next day."

After the first flood, the water in the village of Tutlar receded only a few days later, and residents began clearing their yards and houses. However, on April 5, flooding occurred again. The interviewee said the village had already attempted to prepare for the second wave, but the consequences were still severe. According to him, many houses are deformed, and some cannot be restored.

He also noted the destruction of social infrastructure. According to him, the old school, which served children from two villages, was destroyed.

"We share a school with Adilotatar. In our village of Tutlar, there isn't even a school for elementary grades. This old school, dating back to the 1950s, was destroyed," Ali said.

Speaking about aid, a Tutlar resident reported that there are no serious problems with humanitarian supplies: water, food, and essential items are arriving in the village from various parts of Dagestan and other regions.

Isita, a resident of the village of Adilyotar, told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that the water arrived very quickly on the night of March 29, and the family did not have time to remove their belongings.

According to her, there was no electricity or communication by that time, and the water filled the yard, rooms, and outbuildings "in a matter of minutes." The evacuation, she reported, took place in complete darkness: people were carried out through a window on a cart, then transferred to a truck and driven to a neighboring village. "It was terrifying beyond words: you couldn't see the road, it was like driving into the void on the sea," the woman said.

About 200 sheep drowned, the house was destroyed, and everything was left under the rubble.

According to Isita, it was only after two days that they were able to enter the yard, where the livestock remained: sheep, cows, calves, and chickens. "It was a horrific scene: about 200 sheep drowned, the house was destroyed, everything was left under rubble. Of the three houses in the yard, only two rooms remained, and they were damaged," she said.

She also said that in the first days, people were helped mainly by volunteers from neighboring villages, who evacuated residents in their cars, tractors, and trucks. According to her, the entire village was flooded, the school was destroyed, and residents were forced to seek temporary housing.

At the same time, Isita claims, government assistance has so far been limited to accepting documents for one-time payments. "We are preparing documents for a one-time payment of 15,000 rubles per person. There have been no other damage assessment commissions. "There has been no assistance from the state yet, only promises," she said.

Charities are raising money to help victims

A joint headquarters of charitable organizations has been set up in Makhachkala to coordinate assistance, a representative of the Association of Charitable Foundations of Dagestan told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

According to him, the foundations are raising money for the restoration of houses and at the same time providing the victims with water, pumps, hoses, equipment, and other resources necessary for clearing the areas and work Volunteers.

According to a representative of the organization, there is currently no shortage of food or drinking water, and aid is arriving, including from neighboring republics of the North Caucasus. According to the association, a significant portion of the victims have been accommodated with relatives, while others are in hotels and temporary accommodation centers.

However, the association acknowledged that coordinating a large number of volunteers and equipment was not immediately possible: organizational difficulties arose on the ground during the first two days.

Against the backdrop of forecasts of a third wave of flooding, new preparations have already begun in the affected areas: partial evacuation of residents from dangerous zones has resumed, riverbeds are being cleared and widened, equipment is working in Mamedkala, in the Khasavyurt direction, and in Karaman, and efforts are also underway to increase water flow in other settlements previously affected by flooding, an association representative said.

The republic's largest charitable foundations, as well as organizations and volunteers from other regions of Russia, have joined the effort. "As of this writing, more than 640 million rubles have been raised," one of the Association's volunteers told a Caucasian Knot correspondent on April 10.

According to the Caucasian Knot weather service, cloudy weather with no precipitation is expected in Makhachkala today. Rain is also expected on the night of April 12. The weather service is a partnership between Caucasian Knot and Gismeteo. The service allows you to correct meteorological data for a more accurate forecast. The service is also available in a light version and in the Caucasian Knot apps for Android and AndroidGO.

In the North Caucasus, floods caused by torrential rains have been ongoing since the end of March, and they have become some of the most destructive in recent years. Dagestan and Chechnya suffered the most from the natural disaster, according to the "Caucasian Knot" report "Spring Flooding in the North Caucasus - 2026".

The "Caucasian Knot" has compiled materials about flooding in the republics of the North Caucasus Federal District in the spring of 2026 on the thematic page "Flooding in the North Caucasus".