1961 Kurenivka mudslide in Kiev
Encyclopedia
On March 13, 1961, a large-scale mudslide with numerous fatalities took place in Ukraine
’s capital city of Kiev
(then part of the Soviet Union
).
The dam
securing the loam
pulp dump of a brick
factory near Babi Yar
failed after rain, releasing large volumes of pulp down the high steep hill along the modern Olena Teliha Street. The slide immediately hit the lower-located Kurenivka
neighbourhood, including residential area, the Krasin Tram
Depot, several industrial buildings and a cemetery, as well as automobiles and trams on its way.
The estimated number of casualties varies from 1,500 to 2,000, but only 146 people were officially recognized as such.
Recovery operations continued for days, but no official notification of the tragedy had been published by the Soviet authorities. No public remembrance activities were allowed.
As a result of the subsequent investigation, several construction engineers and managers responsible for dam’s design and maintenance were accused of criminal negligence and convicted.
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
’s capital city of Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
(then part of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
).
The dam
Dam
A dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions. Hydropower and pumped-storage hydroelectricity are...
securing the loam
Loam
Loam is soil composed of sand, silt, and clay in relatively even concentration . Loam soils generally contain more nutrients and humus than sandy soils, have better infiltration and drainage than silty soils, and are easier to till than clay soils...
pulp dump of a brick
Brick
A brick is a block of ceramic material used in masonry construction, usually laid using various kinds of mortar. It has been regarded as one of the longest lasting and strongest building materials used throughout history.-History:...
factory near Babi Yar
Babi Yar
Babi Yar is a ravine in the Ukrainian capital Kiev and a site of a series of massacres carried out by the Nazis during their campaign against the Soviet Union. The most notorious and the best documented of these massacres took place on September 29–30, 1941, wherein 33,771 Jews were killed in a...
failed after rain, releasing large volumes of pulp down the high steep hill along the modern Olena Teliha Street. The slide immediately hit the lower-located Kurenivka
Kurenivka
Kurenivka or Kurenyovka is a historical neighbourhood on the right bank of Kiev, the capital of Ukraine. It is located between the neighbourhoods of Podil, Obolon, Priorka, and Syrets....
neighbourhood, including residential area, the Krasin Tram
Kiev tram
The Kiev Tramway is a tram network which serves the Ukrainian capital Kiev. The system was the first electric tramway in the former Russian Empire and the third one in Europe after the Berlin Straßenbahn and the Budapest tramway. The system currently consists of 139.9 km of track, including...
Depot, several industrial buildings and a cemetery, as well as automobiles and trams on its way.
The estimated number of casualties varies from 1,500 to 2,000, but only 146 people were officially recognized as such.
Recovery operations continued for days, but no official notification of the tragedy had been published by the Soviet authorities. No public remembrance activities were allowed.
As a result of the subsequent investigation, several construction engineers and managers responsible for dam’s design and maintenance were accused of criminal negligence and convicted.
External links
- Oleksandr Anisimov. The Kurenivka Apocalypse. Pictures, documents, and recollections about the March 13, 1961 disaster in Kiev (in Ukrainian)
- 45 Years After the Flooding (newspaper article including survivor's story)
- President calls to remember victims of the Kurenivka tragedy (TV news brief including photo of the disaster results)
- Present-day satellite image centered on the area where the 1961 mudlside stopped (Google MapsGoogle MapsGoogle Maps is a web mapping service application and technology provided by Google, free , that powers many map-based services, including the Google Maps website, Google Ride Finder, Google Transit, and maps embedded on third-party websites via the Google Maps API...
)