The water level in the Tom River causes excitement among many residents living along its banks. The cause of the flood, which took people by surprise in April 2015. Then the river overflowed its banks and flooded part of the territory adjacent to it. And although there were no casualties from the population, there are still concerns.
That is why the water level in the Tom River is now under the careful supervision of specialists and ordinary residents. And on the Internet, special sites have even appeared on which you can see the state of the river online.
Some general information
The Tom River originates in the Abakan Pass, and more precisely, in the Khakass Autonomous Region (Krasnoyarsk Territory). It is curious that here, among the rocks, it behaves like a real mountain river: the boiling streams of cold water continually cut into sharp stones, raising huge foam into the air.
She calms down a little at the moment when she passes the Kuznetsk depression. Even lower there is such a metamorphosis, after which you can’t say that it is the same Tom (river). The map shows that this is happening on the border with the Tomsk region. It is here that it becomes a full-fledged plain river.
Average water level in the Tom River
The total length of the river is 827 km. Therefore, it is quite difficult to give general information about what kind of water level in the Tom River. It is considered to be average. In general, water level fluctuations are about 8 meters.
The minimum water level reaches the end of February. However, with the advent of April, when the sun begins to melt ice and snow, it rises sharply. Often, this phenomenon takes place without noticeable complications for residents of coastal zones, but there are exceptions.
In general, in summer, the water level fluctuates between 2-3.5 m. The peak of floods falls at the end of April or beginning of May. During this period, the average indicators increase by 5-6 m. If this value reaches 7-8 m, then there is a possibility of flooding of the coastal zone.
Floods and floods
So, according to scientists, the water level in the Tom River is much higher than the norm once every five years. However, in recent years, such cases have occurred much more often than usual. The last flood was recorded in April 2015.
In Novokuznetsk, the water level rose to a mark of 6.9 m, which is 65 cm higher than the safe threshold. A similar trend was observed in other cities lying on the coast of the Tom River. For example, in Belogorsk, where the safe elevation is 3.2 m, the water level rose to 4.3 m.