According to the Ukrainian Hydrometeorological Center, spring flooding on most Ukrainian rivers is expected to remain within normal limits or below average. However, warm weather and gradual snowmelt in several regions may still cause local inundations.
“Only small rivers in Kharkiv region and tributaries of the Southern Bug may show levels slightly above normal,”
explains Viktoriia Korniienko, Head of the Hydrological Forecasting Department of the Hydrometeorological Center.
She emphasizes that seasonal water overflow is a natural annual process. This year, the highest probability of flooding is expected in Lviv, Volyn, Rivne, Kyiv, Kharkiv, Chernihiv, Poltava, Sumy, and Dnipropetrovsk regions. In the rivers of the Western Bug basin, the peak has already passed, and water levels are gradually declining, while in central and northern regions elevated water levels may persist for more than a month.
Since mid‑February, Ukraine’s State Emergency Service (SES) has received nearly eight hundred reports related to flooding of private households, adjacent territories, and transport routes. Most incidents have been recorded in Odesa, Cherkasy, Kirovohrad regions, and the Kyiv area.
According to Viktor Vitovetskyi, Director of the SES Civil Protection Department, the effectiveness of flood mitigation depends heavily on the preparedness of local infrastructure. He notes that when water is already approaching residential buildings, pumping becomes ineffective, as the active phase of flooding negates the effort. Temporary channels to divert water, he says, often prove much more efficient and can protect an entire settlement within minutes.
To respond to spring flooding, the SES has formed special anti‑flood units equipped with modern pumps and off‑road machinery, including snow‑and‑swamp vehicles capable of reaching remote or flooded areas quickly.
Search operations completed in Odesa after flooding
