Lawyers explained the rules for paying residents of Dagestan for flood damage.
Losses of housing as a result of flooding in Dagestan are compensated with a housing certificate to prevent misuse of the allocated funds. Mandatory payments for damaged vehicles and lost livestock are not provided for in the republic. Denials of compensation can be appealed through the prosecutor's office or in court.
As reported by "Caucasian Knot," government representatives visited flood-damaged homes to assess the damage. By April 17, more than 190,000 applications for assistance had been received in Dagestan. On April 20, authorities reported that 2,459 people had received a one-time payment, and 1,201 people had received compensation for lost property.
In the Turali microdistrict of Makhachkala, homes were damaged by flooding, floors and appliances were damaged, and people were denied payments, local residents complained.
Officials in Dagestan are meeting the deadlines for paying out payments to flood victims, lawyer Ziyautdin Uvaisov, head of the human rights project "Housing and Utilities Monitor," told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.
"But if the deadlines are missed, you can file a complaint with the prosecutor's office. If payments are denied because the street is not in the flood zone (such cases have been reported by readers of the publication "Chernovik. - Caucasian Knot" note), you must also file a complaint with the prosecutor's office and, "It's possible to go to court, which will confirm that there are grounds for adding it to the list of [those affected by] the emergency, since there was flooding, power outages, and so on," he said.
The flood caught residents of the Khasavyurt district by surprise, and they were forced to hastily evacuate, abandoning their property, villagers told the "Caucasian Knot." Residents of the Adillotarsky village council lost 400 head of cattle, 360 head of small cattle, and nearly 30,000 poultry as a result of the flood.
The car and livestock are not currently being compensated.
According to the lawyer, the property loss assessment is very simple. "There is a list of personal property items—for example, a kitchen cabinet, a boiler, a television, a table, a chair, a sofa, a bed, and so on. If [only] three items from this list are damaged, then [this is considered] partial damage to the property, and if not a single item from this list is intact, then it is considered total damage to the property. This, according to the act, must be compensated. "Cars and livestock are not currently compensated unless a new law is passed," Uvaisov explained.
People who have lost their homes are provided with compensation in the form of a housing certificate for the purchase or construction of a new home. The certificate amount is calculated based on family composition and floor area standards, according to Dagestan authorities. The established price per square meter in Dagestan is 81,000 rubles, and this rate will be used to calculate the certificate amount. Victims will be able to use the allocated funds only upon providing a document confirming actual repair expenses or a contract with a contractor.
The condition for the transfer of funds is precisely to ensure that the funds are spent on repairing damaged housing or building new housing, explained Ziyautdin Uvaisov.
"Housing Certificate" Or the money is provided upon signing a contract with the person who will perform the work. This means the victim cannot spend the money on their own [other] needs. It must be transferred by bank transfer to the accounts of those who will perform the work. The same applies to major repairs. Those who will receive funding must have a contract with the contractor," he said.
The Federal Law "On the Protection of the Population and Territories from Natural and Man-Made Emergencies" enshrines the state's authority to provide assistance to victims, but does not establish a universal obligation to fully compensate for any property damage, noted lawyer Timofey Shirokov.
Payments, as a rule, do not cover the full cost of housing.
"The law establishes a general rule for compensation in connection with the loss of housing. The specific procedure and amounts are determined by government decrees. There may also be regional programs. Another issue is that payments related to the loss of housing are fixed and, as a rule, do not cover its full value," he told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.
According to the lawyer, while the authorities should help restore housing, movable property is a completely different matter. "Movable property is already an insured item," Shirokov explained.
As a reminder, from April 12 to 18, landslides destroyed 28 houses in the Dakhadaevsky District, and another 127 were partially damaged. About 200 people were evacuated. "Of course, there is significant damage, and other villagers have suffered even more. We are helping each other as best we can. we are helping each other. "It's too early to talk about compensation for damages; we hope there will be some payments," a resident of the village of Urkarakh told the "Caucasian Knot" on April 20.
About 1.5 million residents of Dagestan were caught in the devastating flood zone. Six residents of the republic, including three minors, died as a result of the flooding. Furthermore, on April 13, 19-year-old volunteer Artem Mikhrabov, who suffered a severe traumatic brain injury while helping residents of the flooded village of Mamedkala, died in the hospital.
Floods caused by torrential rains began in the North Caucasus at the end of March and have become some of the most destructive in recent years. Dagestan and Chechnya suffered the most from the disaster, according to a "Caucasian Knot" report. href="https://www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/422084">Spring Flooding in the North Caucasus - 2026.
The Institute of Geography of the Russian Academy of Sciences linked the floods in Dagestan to a combination of natural processes and anthropogenic impacts, which exacerbates the scale of natural disasters. Dagestani analysts interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" also cited ill-considered development, natural factors, and the deplorable state of hydraulic structures among the causes of the devastating floods.
The "Caucasian Knot" has compiled materials on flooding in the republics of the North Caucasus Federal District in the spring of 2026 on the thematic page "Flooding in the North Caucasus".