Consequences of floods in Dagestan and dam breach caused mass migration in the region - intelligence
Kyiv • UNN
Due to large-scale floods and a dam breach in Dagestan, seven people died. Thousands of victims are fleeing to central Russia due to the inaction of the authorities.
In Dagestan, which is currently a region of the Russian Federation, large-scale floods occurred in late March - early April 2026. The bad weather claimed the lives of at least seven people, flooded hundreds of homes and damaged over three thousand, and left more than 50 thousand residents without normal living conditions. This was reported by UNN with reference to the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine.
Details
A key symbol of helplessness was the breach of the Gedzhukh dam, which had been considered potentially dangerous since 2006. However, local authorities had taken no measures to strengthen it for years.
Instead of real action, officials led by Sergey Melikov continue their traditional game: they declare "control of the situation," shift blame to predecessors, developers, and "climate change." In reality, the problem is systemic and lies precisely with the regional authorities. Chaotic illegal construction on riverbanks - tens of thousands of square meters built without any planning or norms - significantly exacerbated the scale of the disaster. People found themselves at risk due to the greed of developers and the complete inaction of officials, who for several years have only been imitating a struggle against this phenomenon. In 2023, the authorities planned to declare 457 high-rise buildings in Makhachkala illegal; in February 2026, they demolished over 1300 structures, but, according to locals, new ones quickly appear in their place.
The Foreign Intelligence Service also added: the region was left alone with the disaster. People are fleeing en masse.
Internal migration from rural areas of Dagestan is only accelerating - the population is escaping a combination of natural disasters and the total managerial incompetence of local authorities. Thousands of Dagestanis who have lost their homes are now heading to the central regions of Russia, where new conflicts with the local population will inevitably arise due to tensions over migration and resources.
Recall
In the first quarter of 2026, the Russian federal budget turned into a real financial absurdity: the deficit reached 4.576 trillion rubles - more than for the entire year 2025.