Trouble in Chemal
I received a disturbing message last week from a friend in Novokuznetsk, Russia - Julia Machlina. She said that the village of Chemal, which is in the Altay mountains close to the Chinese border, had been struck by disaster.
The name Chemal may ring a bell. I have visited this place twice and written about it, both in the newspaper and on this blog. Several years ago, this newspaper sponsored the Chemal Relief Effort, which resulted in us sending 3.5 tons of donated books, school supplies and furniture to the village school, recently rebuilt after a devastating fire.
According to Julia, there was a sudden flood of a tributary of the Katun River, followed by a quick freeze, resulting in numerous homes under water - and then ice - up to the roof level.
I scoured the Internet for news of this, but there was nothing. I'm not surprised. Chemal is in a remote, almost unpopulated area of Siberia. There are few telephones in the village. Communications to and from there are exceedingly slow and difficult.
There is only one tributary that flows into the Katun at Chemal, and it flows right past the home of Edvard and Nadejda Schmals, in whose house I had stayed during two visits. I took this photo of the stream just a few feet from their front door. Naturally, I feared for them.
I've received a little more information since then, which I'll share with you tomorrow.
