Tornadoes are not such a frequent occurrence in central Russia. Therefore, a natural disaster in the Ivanovo region became a rather noticeable and dramatic event in the history of the USSR, even reflected in literature and cinema.
Where did the tornado come from?
In early June 1984, dry and hot weather set in after a long period of high atmospheric pressure in the central European part of the country. But on June 9, two atmospheric fronts collided here, one of which was moving from the southwest, and the other from the north. The collision of two air masses led to the formation of at least three tornado funnels, which had high destructive power. They passed in a northeastern direction through the Moscow, Kalinin, Ivanovo, Yaroslavl and Kostroma regions. Also, strong squall winds were observed on this day in the Gorky, Ryazan, Kirov, Saratov regions, Mordovia, Chuvash and Mari ASSR. But the most destructive was a tornado that passed through the Ivanovo region. The wind speed inside the funnel was estimated to be about 100 meters per second.
Scary procession
The tornado appeared at a distance of about 15 kilometers from Ivanov, on the border of the forest and the field. Before that, a hail with a diameter of about 2 centimeters fell from the thundercloud. At about 15.15, another cloud appeared in the sky - a darker shade, with a protrusion similar in shape to a funnel. Swinging from side to side, the funnel began to sink to the ground. Almost reaching the ground, she began to suck in various objects. Meanwhile, the cloud itself was rapidly moving northward. The western suburbs of Ivanov were "affected": Glinishchevo, Balino, Belyanitsa, Govyadovo, Avdotino. In the forest, trees were felled or broken at a height of 1-3 meters. About an hour later, the tornado was already 60 kilometers from Ivanovo, in the area of the Lunevo camp site in the Kostroma region on the banks of the Volga, and continued to move through the forests further north …
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Consequences of the disaster
In Ivanovo and its environs, even from concrete and brick buildings, roofs were torn off, window panes were broken. One-story houses in the suburbs suffered the most. Those of them that were in the epicenter of the cataclysm were completely destroyed. Some small wooden houses were thrown into the air … On the ground were3 trees, poles and poles of power lines. At the Balino cemetery, a tornado knocked down trees, turned out tombstones from the ground. In Avdotin, a water supply system was put out of order, and it took several days to restore it. According to estimates, 680 residential buildings, 200 household objects, 20 schools, kindergartens and power lines from the Kostroma TPP were affected by the violence of the elements in the Ivanovo region. According to various sources, the number of human victims ranged from 57 to 79 people. Since it was Saturday, there were many summer residents among the dead. Others died in whole families. Subsequently, they were buried at the expense of the state. 804 people were injured and taken to Ivanovo hospitals. “Because of the tornado, I lost my grandfather and my sister,” recalls Sergei Seleznev, a resident of Ivanovo, who was then 5 years old. - My grandmother and I miraculously survived; lay in the hospital for several months - they were treating fractures: during a tornado we found ourselves under the rubble of our own house in Degtyarevo … Those who liquidated the consequences in Ivanovo, they say that there was nowhere to put the corpses, they were even dumped in schools in gyms.lay in the hospital for several months - they were treating fractures: during a tornado we found ourselves under the rubble of our own house in Degtyarevo … Those who liquidated the consequences in Ivanovo, they say that there was nowhere to put the corpses, they were even dumped in schools in gyms.lay in the hospital for several months - they were treating fractures: during a tornado we found ourselves under the rubble of our own house in Degtyarevo … Those who liquidated the consequences in Ivanovo, they say that there was nowhere to put the corpses, they were even dumped in schools in gyms.
Another eyewitness, with whom I was in the hospital, told me that they were taken out in trucks, the tents of which were soaked with blood through and through. She also told me that she saw traffic lights and people flying through the air in Ivanovo. And at the cemetery in the town of Balino near Ivanovo, coffins with the dead, turned out of the ground, were flying. " Workers from all over the Soviet Union came to help in the restoration of the destroyed facilities. On Lezhnevskaya Street, two 16-storey panel buildings were erected by Moscow builders. The 9-storey building was erected by builders from the city of Gorky. The Ivanovo people themselves built several 5-storey buildings. Apartments in newly built houses were subsequently distributed among those who were left homeless because of the hurricane. The terrible natural cataclysm made an impression on the whole country. In 1986, Vasily Belov's novel "Everything Ahead" was published.which mentions the Ivanovsky tornado. And in 1988, director Nikolai Gubenko shot the film "Forbidden Zone" about the events of June 1984. The shooting took place directly at the scene of the tragedy - on the territory of the Ivanovo region.