Man is actively and confidently managing on our planet. Most of all, he is interested in mineral deposits, because they provide an opportunity to develop production, build new cities and form many jobs in the process of developing the field and its further operation. However, here you can see not so bright prospects, because because of the deep and ramified mines in the mines underground, voids form. Many of them interspersed with karst dips. In Berezniki and Solikamsk, this state of affairs led to the appearance of several failures, which became the hallmark of these cities. The government has been aware of the problem of settlements for a long time, but specialists cannot stop the process of subsidence of the soil. Today we will tell you about the failures in Berezniki and Solikamsk, and also try to find out what consequences this has for residents of two cities of the Perm Territory.
Let's turn to the specifics of the question
Failures in the Berezniki - this is not an isolated phenomenon on the world map. Many cities and countries face a similar problem, especially often the soil sags in places where human activities are active or specific environmental conditions are created.
As a result of soil shifts, depressions occur in the earth's surface. Predicting their appearance is extremely difficult, so houses, farm buildings, railroad tracks and other infrastructure can go underground. Such phenomena cause serious material harm and cause the death of a large number of people. In Berezniki (Perm Territory), the failures are carefully monitored by specialists who are painstakingly studying them and predicting new ground movements. Perhaps, thanks to their activities, mass casualties among the population of the city have been avoided for many years.
Causes of Sudden Ground Movements
The failures in Berezniki and other places are due to many reasons. But among the main ones, the following can be distinguished:
- Ground erosion with water. This may be underground sources, leaks from paved sewers and similar situations.
- The deformation of natural voids. In some areas, underground there are a large number of unexplored voids and caves. Sometimes they lie so deep that it is impossible to detect them in the process of exploration. Over time, they are deformed, the soil is set in motion and sags.
- Conducting construction work without examination. If construction is started in hazardous areas, then another failure can be provoked. Therefore, there is a rule according to which geological exploration must precede construction work.
- The composition of the soil. Any soil is subject to erosion, but if it consists of limestone or, for example, rock salt, then the risk of subsidence becomes several times higher.
Sometimes the deformation of various underground structures leads to the formation of dips. But let's go directly to the history of the formation of failures in the Berezniki.
From the history of the issue
Solikamsk and Berezniki are considered the largest cities in the Perm region. There is also a vast Verkhnekamskoye deposit, where magnesium and potassium salts are mined. Salt mining has been going on here for over eighty years. During this period, there were three major accidents at the mines, which partly provoked the formation of failures.
Scientists believe that the main reason for the failures in Berezniki is mines and mines. They are located almost under the city, which already poses a serious danger to its residents. It is noteworthy that under residential quarters, the first voids were discovered back in the seventies of the last century, forty years after the development of deposits. Some of them are located only three hundred meters from the surface.
At the moment, the situation has developed in such a way that the only Christian church is closed in Berezniki and several residential quarters are settled. Moreover, soil movements are still occurring. A new failure in Berezniki was discovered not so long ago - in March this year. Each of them is under close supervision.
First failure
At the beginning of the eighty-sixth year, miners discovered a leak in one of the mines. Water mixed with salts, which is called “brine” in local jargon, quickly corroded the soil, and by spring it became clear that the accident could no longer be localized. The flow gradually penetrated into the premises where the production took place, and was measured at a speed of several thousand cubic meters per hour.
The first failure in Berezniki was formed on the night of the twenty-seventh of July. In the forest zone there was a gas explosion and a powerful release of salts to the surface. Eyewitnesses said that the process was accompanied by flashes of light, which looked quite impressive against the background of the night sky.
Literally within a month, a huge hole filled with water and began to resemble a lake with edges twenty meters high. It is noteworthy that the failure formed in the path of a small stream. The result was a picturesque waterfall, which quickly became a local attraction.
Uralkali (plant) carefully monitors the failure of land in Berezniki. Funnel measurements are taken twice a year. It is worth noting that the depth of the dip is rapidly decreasing, however, its width tends to increase. Moreover, experts fear that in the near future, new ones may form next to the first failure, which will increase the total area of the funnel.
According to the latest data, the diameter of the artificial lake is approximately two hundred meters.
The failure in Solikamsk and its consequences
Failures in Berezniki are more numerous than in Solikamsk. But in this city they had more devastating consequences. In the first days of January of the ninety-fifth year of the last century, a powerful earthquake occurred within Solikamsk. A few shocks of magnitude from three to five points led to the loss of a whole lake. A dip of approximately one thousand meters by nine hundred meters engulfed the lake and the springs that feed the reservoir.
As a result, water entered the first and second mines, and most of the city’s buildings fell into the potential collapse zone. However, the workers managed to completely save the second mine and stop the water that could flood under the city and destroy it.
Failure Trend
In connection with the development of the deposit, the soil and soil in the area of the mines became very mobile. This partly provoked frequent earthquakes in Solikamsk and Berezniki. From the late nineties to the beginning of the zero years, several hundred of them happened.
In the risk zone, many small dips have formed. They were scattered at a sufficient distance from each other and did not suffer significant damage. However, in the eyes of specialists, these failures were only the harbingers of future problems. They made a forecast according to which by 2006 it was necessary to expect increased seismic activity and the formation of new dips in the region of the Verkhnekamskoye field. It is worth noting that the experts were right.
First Mine Accident
In the fall of the sixth year after another earthquake, workers noticed water entering the mines. The brine initially resembled a small brook, but it very quickly corroded the rock. A few days later, the flow reached simply incredible speed - more than one thousand cubic meters per hour.
The mine was rapidly flooding. The plant management tried to eliminate the consequences of the accident, but pumping water did not give the desired results. After a couple of days it became clear that it would not be possible to resume work. Therefore, people were ordered to withdraw to the surface and leave the mines in a flooded state. This caused a new failure.
The crash of 2007
A year after the accident at the mine, serious soil shifts and a collapse occurred. The initial diameter of the formed funnel did not exceed seventy meters. However, the failure was growing rapidly and after a couple of weeks had a size of about five hundred meters.
Water accumulated at the bottom of the funnel and a small lake formed. It is noteworthy that the water level in the dip regularly rises. According to recent reports, it reaches a little over a hundred meters.
Consequences of failure
A huge funnel caused significant damage to the state. An urgent commission announced that it was at least one billion rubles. However, the biggest problem was that the failure occurred dangerously close to the railway line and the residential areas of Bereznikov.
After long attempts to resolve the situation, the authorities had to build a detour branch and urgently deal with the resettlement of local residents. It took almost a half billion rubles.
Eight years ago, the state once again calculated the losses from the resulting failure. According to the results, almost eight billion rubles were requested from the company developing the field.
Closing station Berezniki
Seven years ago, the accident at the first mine again made itself felt. In November of the tenth year, a new failure formed right in the vicinity of the railway station. Its diameter slightly exceeded one hundred meters, but the work of the station ceased.
After some time, the failure failed to fall asleep, in the process one of the bulldozers was killed. Soil still continues to settle at the funnel site, so the station is in an abandoned state.
Funnel in Solikamsk
Three years ago, a small failure was noticed in the city. Its size is eighty by fifty meters. He did not bring serious consequences, but it is an alarming bell for local residents.
Another failure in Berezniki
The school’s garden at number twenty-six, located almost in its yard, has been abandoned for several years. The institution itself and all nearby buildings are resettled ten years ago. And as events have shown, it’s not at all in vain. Indeed, two years ago it was here that a new failure arose.
It was preceded by numerous cracks that spontaneously arise on the territory of the city. They began to appear about five years ago, passing through city squares, paved streets and even houses.
In February of the fifteenth year right in the courtyard of a closed school would
Another funnel was detected. Its diameter did not exceed five meters, but experts are sure that the size will increase.
Recent data confirmed that they were not mistaken. The funnel has already reached almost thirty meters in diameter.
Kotovsky street: the place of the new funnel
The last two years, experts have closely monitored the movement of soil on Kotovsky street in Berezniki. They noted that the soil began to sag, and every month this process accelerated.
As a result, in March of this year, a failure occurred on the street. Its dimensions did not exceed two and a half meters. A month later, another funnel eight meters deep appeared nearby. In the near future, scientists predict the formation of new voids in the same area.
What awaits Berezniki in the future? Nobody knows that. But many experts have repeatedly raised the topic of relocating the city to a safer place. Otherwise, one day it may completely disappear from the surface of the earth.