Chaotic development worsened flood damage in Makhachkala districts.
Pipes across the riverbed that is flooding homes in the Makhachkala villages of Gazoraspredelitel and Palmira were laid by local residents themselves during the haphazard development of these areas.
As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," on April 8, residents of the village of Gazoraspredelitel in Makhachkala appealed to the mayor of Makhachkala and the head of Dagestan, Sergei Melikov, demanding that the riverbed be cleared, which is flooding residents' homes.
Residents pointed out obstacles in the form of pipes that cross the riverbed in many places. The functionality of these pipes is unknown. "Two minutes of flooding, and boards and trees get stuck, immediately creating a dam of debris. The water is simply forced to find a new channel through our houses," they said.
The Gazoraspredelitel settlement (GRS) is located on the outskirts of Makhachkala and consists primarily of private housing built on former garden plots. After flooding in late March and early April, the settlement was severely flooded, local resident Magomed told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.
The main problems in the settlement were the chaotic development and the lack of sewerage systems in most areas, he noted, commenting on local residents' appeal to the authorities.
“Many residents are laying pipes however they can and want, blocking canals. The pipes the woman showed in the video are most likely illegally installed sewer or water supply lines. The problem isn't with these pipes running through the ditch. The lack of proper territorial planning, the lack of necessary infrastructure, and the dense development are the cause of the flooding,” he believes.
The authorities haven't responded to the video message, said another resident of the village, Ali. Now, according to him, the water has subsided, although there are still some flooded areas.
“There's no mass exodus from the village; some residents moved to other areas of the city during the flood. The GRS and Palmyra areas are very problematic in terms of flooding. So what can we do? People have built some housing here; many knew about the existing problems in the area, so we have to endure it,” he told a “Caucasian Knot” correspondent.
One of the measures to restore infrastructure in the Palmira and Gazoraspredelitel microdistricts after flooding is the addition of sand and gravel to the roadway, the Makhachkala mayor's office reported on its Telegram channel. "Specialists pumped out water and also carried out work to remove silt and mud deposits, clearing the area for subsequent backfill," the city administration reported on April 11.
In the North Caucasus, floods caused by heavy rains have been ongoing since the end of March, and they have become some of the most destructive in recent years. Dagestan and Chechnya suffered the most from the natural disaster, according to the "Caucasian Knot" report "Spring Flooding in the North Caucasus - 2026".
As of April 13, more than 500 residential buildings remained flooded. In total, about 1.5 million residents of Dagestan were affected by the devastating floods. On April 9, the state of emergency in the republic was raised from regional to federal.
The Caucasian Knot compiled materials on flooding in the North Caucasus Federal District republics in the spring of 2026 on the topic page "Flooding in the North Caucasus".