You're reading: Kyiv may suffer serious floods, say ecologists

 Ecologists have forecast that there could be serious flooding in Kyiv after the recent heavy snowfall. 

“Serious floods may occur when the snow starts melting in late April. half of the left bank [of the Dnipro River], Koncha-Zaspa, and Podil district will be flooded,” Director of Kyiv Center for Ecology and Culture Volodymyr Boreiko said in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine on Monday.

He also said that floods might occur after April 20.

Boreiko added that the consequences of the floods would be “very serious.” He said that lower stories of blocks of flats could be flooded and houses in Koncha-Zaspa could be destroyed by the natural disaster.

The expert recalled that in 1971 the level of water in the Dnipro River went up by eight meters and in 1986 by three meters.

At the same time, he said that the heavy snowfall in Kyiv has positive sides, as air in Kyiv has become cleaner.

Meanwhile, ecologists worry that the recent snowfall may cause the mass death of storks.

“Storks are already flying here. Hundreds of storks have come to Chernivtsi region. They’re standing in the snow, with nothing to eat, and they’re dying of starvation,” Boreiko said.