Flood on the Kuril Islands. A monstrous echo of the ocean depths. Kuril tsunami. Alive and missing

In Severo-Kurilsk the expression “living like on a volcano” can be used without quotation marks. There are 23 volcanoes on the island of Paramushir, five of them are active. Ebeko, located seven kilometers from the city, comes to life from time to time and releases volcanic gases.

When it is calm and with a westerly wind, they reach Severo-Kurilsk - it is impossible not to smell the smell of hydrogen sulfide and chlorine. Usually in such cases, the Sakhalin Hydrometeorological Center issues a storm warning about air pollution: it is easy to get poisoned by toxic gases. Eruptions at Paramushir in 1859 and 1934 caused mass poisoning of people and the death of domestic animals. Therefore, in such cases, volcanologists urge city residents to use breathing masks and water purification filters.

The site for the construction of Severo-Kurilsk was chosen without conducting a volcanological examination. Then, in the 1950s, the main thing was to build a city no lower than 30 meters above sea level. After the tragedy of 1952, water seemed worse than fire.

In the fall of 1952, the country lived a normal life. The Soviet press, Pravda and Izvestia, did not get a single line: neither about the tsunami in the Kuril Islands, nor about the thousands of dead people. The picture of what happened can be reconstructed only from the memories of eyewitnesses and rare photographs.

Secret tsunami

The tsunami wave after the earthquake in Japan reached the Kuril Islands. Low, one and a half meters. And in the fall of 1952 East Coast Kamchatka, the islands of Paramushir and Shumshu found themselves on the first line of disaster. North Kuril tsunami 1952 was one of the five largest in the history of the twentieth century.

The city of Severo-Kurilsk was destroyed. The Kuril and Kamchatka villages of Utesny, Levashovo, Reefovy, Kamenisty, Pribrezhny, Galkino, Okeansky, Podgorny, Major Van, Shelekhovo, Savushkino, Kozyrevsky, Babushkino, Baykovo were swept away...

The writer Arkady Strugatsky, who served as a military translator in the Kuril Islands in those years, took part in eliminating the consequences of the tsunami. From a letter to his brother in Leningrad:

"...I was on the island of Syumushu (or Shumshu - look at the southern tip of Kamchatka). What I saw, did and experienced there - I cannot write yet. I will only say that I visited the area where the disaster I wrote to you about , made itself felt especially strongly.
The black island of Syumushu, the island of the wind Syumushu, the ocean hits the rock walls of Syumushu.
Anyone who was on Syumusyu, was on Syumusyu that night, remembers how the ocean attacked Syumusyu;
How the ocean crashed with a roar onto the piers of Syumushu, and onto the pillboxes of Syumushu, and onto the roofs of Syumushu;
As in the hollows of Syumushu, and in the trenches of Syumushu, the ocean raged in the bare hills of Syumushu.
And the next morning, Syumusyu, there were many corpses to the walls-rocks of Syumusyu, Syumusyu, carried out by the Pacific Ocean.
Black island of Syumushu, island of fear Syumushu. Anyone who lives on Syumushu looks at the ocean.
I wove these verses under the impression of what I saw and heard. I don’t know how from a literary point of view, but from the point of view of facts, everything is correct...”

In those years, work on registering residents in Severo-Kurilsk was not really organized. Seasonal workers, classified military units, the composition of which was not disclosed. According to the official report, in 1952 about six thousand people lived in Severo-Kurilsk.

In 1951, 82-year-old South Sakhalin resident Konstantin Ponedelnikov went with his comrades to the Kuril Islands to earn extra money. They built houses, plastered walls, helped install reinforced concrete salting vats at a fish processing plant. In those years Far East there were a lot of newcomers: they arrived for recruitment and worked out the period established by the contract.

It all happened on the night of November 4-5. I was still single, well, I was young, I came from the street late, already at two or three o’clock. Then he lived in an apartment, rented a room from a fellow countryman, also from Kuibyshev. Just lay down - what is it? The house shook. The owner shouts: get up quickly, get dressed and go outside. He had lived there for several years, he knew what was what,” says Konstantin Ponedelnikov.

Konstantin ran out of the house and lit a cigarette. The ground shook noticeably underfoot. And suddenly, shooting, screams, and noise were heard from the shore. In the light of the ship's searchlights, people were running from the bay. "War!" - they shouted. At least that's what it seemed to the guy at first. Later I realized: a wave! Water!!! Self-propelled guns were coming from the sea towards the hills where the border unit was located. And together with everyone else, Konstantin ran after him, upstairs.

From the report of senior lieutenant of state security P. Deryabin:

"... Before we had time to reach the regional department, we heard a loud noise, then a crash from the sea. Looking back, we saw a large wave of water advancing from the sea onto the island... I gave the order to open fire from personal weapons and shout : “Water is coming!”, simultaneously retreating to the hills. Hearing the noise and screams, people began to run out of the apartments in what they were wearing (most of them in underwear, barefoot) and run to the hills.”

“Our path to the hills lay through a ditch about three meters wide, where wooden walkways were laid for crossing. A woman with a five-year-old boy was running next to me, gasping for breath. I grabbed the child in my arms and jumped over the ditch with him, from where the strength only came from. And the mother had already climbed over the planks,” said Konstantin Ponedelnikov.

On the hill there were army dugouts where training took place. It was there that people settled down to warm up - it was November. These dugouts became their refuge for the next few days.

Three waves

After the first wave left, many went down to find missing relatives and release livestock from the barns. People didn’t know: a tsunami has a long wavelength, and sometimes tens of minutes pass between the first and second.

From the report of P. Deryabin:

"...Approximately 15–20 minutes after the departure of the first wave, a wave of water of even greater force and magnitude than the first gushed out again. People, thinking that everything was already over (many, grief-stricken by the loss of their loved ones, children and property), descended from the hills and began to settle in the surviving houses to warm up and clothe themselves. The water, without encountering resistance on its way... poured onto the land, completely destroying the remaining houses and buildings. This wave destroyed the entire city and killed most of the population."

And almost immediately the third wave carried into the sea almost everything that it could take with it. The strait separating the islands of Paramushir and Shumshu was filled with floating houses, roofs and debris.

The tsunami, which was later named after the destroyed city - the "tsunami in Severo-Kurilsk" - was caused by an earthquake in the Pacific Ocean, 130 km from the coast of Kamchatka. An hour after the powerful (magnitude about 9.0) earthquake, the first tsunami wave reached Severo-Kurilsk. The height of the second, most terrible, wave reached 18 meters. According to official data, 2,336 people died in Severo-Kurilsk alone.

Konstantin Ponedelnikov did not see the waves themselves. First he delivered refugees to the hill, then with several volunteers they went down and spent long hours rescuing people, pulling them out of the water, removing them from roofs. The real scale of the tragedy became clear later.

– I went down to the city... We had a watchmaker there, a good guy, legless. I look: his stroller. And he himself lies nearby, dead. The soldiers put the corpses on a chaise and take them to the hills, where they either end up in a mass grave, or how else they buried them - God knows. And along the shore there were barracks, an sapper military unit. One foreman survived; he was at home, but the entire company died. A wave covered them. There was a bullpen, and there were probably people there. Maternity hospital, hospital... Everyone died, recalls Konstantin.

From a letter from Arkady Strugatsky to his brother:

“The buildings were destroyed, the entire shore was littered with logs, pieces of plywood, pieces of fences, gates and doors. On the pier there were two old naval artillery towers, they were erected by the Japanese almost at the end of the Russian-Japanese War. The tsunami threw them about a hundred meters away. When dawn, those who managed to escape came down from the mountains - men and women in underwear, shivering from cold and horror, but most of the inhabitants either drowned or lay on the shore mixed with logs and debris.

The evacuation of the population was carried out promptly. After a short call from Stalin to the Sakhalin Regional Committee, all nearby aircraft and watercraft were sent to the disaster area. Konstantin, among about three hundred victims, found himself on the Amderma steamship, completely filled with fish. Half of the coal hold was unloaded for the people and a tarpaulin was thrown in.

Through Korsakov they were brought to Primorye, where they lived for some time in very difficult conditions. But then “at the top” they decided that recruitment contracts needed to be worked out, and sent everyone back to Sakhalin. There was no talk of any kind of material compensation; it would be good if they could at least confirm their length of service. Konstantin was lucky: his work boss remained alive and restored his work books and passports...

This is the last of the five most powerful earthquakes on Earth, about which there has not yet been an article. Why wasn't it? Because it is the earliest? Not at all. Because it's not the most interesting? No, because it would be very funny for a person born in the USSR and living in a seismically dangerous area not to know about it and not be interested in what is happening in his practically native country.
Here's why: little is known about the earthquakes that occurred on the territory of the USSR, except perhaps from foreign sources. They knew that there were earthquakes, but the details were usually not covered.
Let's start:
November 4, 1952 At 16:52 local time, a strong earthquake occurred off the eastern coast of Kamchatka. The earthquake was followed by a massive tsunami, which resulted in economic losses of approximately $1 million in 1952 dollars. The magnitude of the earthquake was initially estimated at 8.2, but in 1977 Hiro Kanamori recalculated it, and as a result the strength of the earthquake was 9.0 magnitude. The depth of the hypocenter was about 30 kilometers.
The tsunami caused enormous damage in the Hawaiian Islands. Midway Atoll was flooded, the water level rose by 1 meter. In the Hawaiian Islands, waves destroyed boats, telephone lines, piers were destroyed, beaches were washed away, and lawns were flooded. In Honolulu, the Harbor barge was dumped onto another cargo ship. In Hilo, the tsunami destroyed a small bridge. At Cape Cayena on the island of Oahu, wave heights of up to 9.1 meters were recorded. The north coast of Oahu saw much of the destruction in Hawaii. A boathouse costing about $13,000 was demolished in Hilo. One span of the Cocos Islands bridge was destroyed. In Hilo alone, damage is estimated at $400,000. However, in other coastal cities in Hawaii, the rise in water was barely noticeable.

Alaska also experienced a strong tsunami. In Masskru Bay the wave had a height of 2.7 meters and a period of about 17 minutes. Low-lying areas were flooded. In Adak, the wave height was less - about 1 meter - and only the shores in the harbor area were flooded. In Dutch Harbor, schools were closed and people evacuated to higher ground, but the wave caused no damage as its height was only half a meter. In other places, the height of the tsunami waves was even smaller - within 30 centimeters.
In California, the maximum tsunami waves were observed in Avila - 1.4 meters high, in Crescent - 1 meter, and in other cities and towns they howled less than a meter and did not lead to noticeable damage.
In New Zealand, waves reached a height of 1m. Japan also experienced a tsunami, but there is no information about damage or loss of life. Minor wave damage was reported as far away as Peru and Chile, more than 9,000 kilometers away from the earthquake site.

In Kamchatka, wave heights ranged from 0 to 5 meters, but in some places the tsunamis were higher (from the Kronotsky Peninsula to Cape Shipursky - from 4 to 13 meters). The most high wave was observed in Olga Bay and was 13 meters and caused significant damage there. The time it took for the waves to reach Cape Olga was 42 minutes after the earthquake. From Cape Shipursky to Cape Povorotny, the height of the tsunami waves ranged from 1 to 10 meters and caused significant casualties and economic losses. In Avacha Bay, the tsunami was only about 1.2 meters high and arrived there half an hour after the earthquake. From Cape Povorotny to Cape Lopatka, the wave height was from 5 to 15 meters. In Khodutka Bay the boat was thrown at a distance of 500 meters from coastline. On west coast Kamchatka maximum height The tsunami was registered in Ozernoye and was 5 meters. On Alaid Island in the Kuril Islands ridge the wave height was 1.5 meters, on Shumshu Island - from 7 to 9 meters, on Paramushir - from 4 to 18.4 meters. In Severo-Kurilsk, the main city of the Kuril Islands, located on Paramushir, the wave height was very high - about 15 meters. The tsunami caused great destruction in the city and resulted in significant loss of life. On the island of Onekotan the wave height was 9 meters, on the island of Shiashkoton - 8 meters, on the island of Iturup - 2.5 meters. Waves up to 2 meters high were recorded on the Commander Islands and Okhotsk. On Sakhalin in the city of Korsakov, the wave height was about 1 meter.
At last count, the total number of victims was about four thousand people, most of whom were on the Kuril Islands.

Many destroyed villages and border outposts were never rebuilt. The population of the islands has decreased greatly. Severo-Kurilsk was rebuilt, moving it away from the ocean as far as the terrain allowed. As a result, he found himself in even more dangerous place- on the cone of mud flows of Ebeko volcano, one of the most active in the Kuril Islands. The population of the city today is about 3 thousand people. The disaster initiated the creation of a tsunami warning service in the USSR, which is now in a sad state due to meager funding.
HISTORYThe three earthquakes that occurred off the coast of Kamchatka in 1737, 1923 and 1952 were caused by the collision of the Pacific and Okhotsk plates. Northern Kamchatka is located in the western part of the Bering fault between the Pacific and North American plates. There are many earthquakes in this area, the last of which was recorded in 1997.
The earthquake of 1737 had a magnitude of just under 9.0, according to the latest calculations, the source was at a depth of 40 kilometers. The earthquake on February 4, 1923 had a magnitude of 8.3-8.5 and led to a tsunami, which caused significant damage in Kamchatka and casualties. The tsunami was about 6 meters high when it reached Hawaiian Islands, causing the death of at least one person. In addition, strong earthquakes occurred in Kamchatka on April 15, 1791 (magnitude about 7), 1807, 1809, 1810, 1821, 1827 (magnitude 6-7), May 8, 1841 (magnitude about 7), in 1851, 1902, 1904, 1911, April 14, 1923, autumn 1931, September 1936.
WITH late XIX century to the end of the 70s of the 20th century, 56 earthquakes with a magnitude of more than 7, nine with a magnitude of more than 8, and two with a magnitude of more than 8.5 occurred in Kamchatka. Since 1969, five earthquakes with a magnitude greater than 7.5 have been recorded on the peninsula (November 22, 1969 - 7.7, December 15, 1971 - 7.8, February 28, 1973 - 7.5, December 12, 1984 - 7, 5, December 5, 1997 – 7.9).

List of earthquakes for 1952 (magnitude greater than 7

)
1. Kepulauan Barat Daya, Indonesia, February 14, magnitude 7.0
2. Hokkaido Island, Japan, March 4, magnitude 8.13.
4. Philippines area, March 19, magnitude 7.3
5. Central California, USA, July 21, magnitude 7.3
6. Tibet, China, August 17, magnitude 7.4
7. Kamchatka, USSR, November 4, magnitude 8.9
8. Solomon islands, December 6, magnitude 7.0 November 5, 1952- in the ocean near the southern tip Kamchatka Peninsula, It happened earthquake 9 points and this entailed the destruction of some settlements Sakhalin and Kamchatka regions. The resulting tsunami(the height of the waves reached 13 - 18 m) the city of Severo-Kurilsk (Paramushir Island) was actually completely demolished.

There are 23 volcanoes on the island of Paramushir, five of them are active. Ebeko, located seven kilometers from the city, comes to life from time to time and releases volcanic gases.

But in the fall of 1952, the eastern coast of Kamchatka, the islands of Paramushir and Shumshu found themselves on the first line of disaster. The North Kuril tsunami of 1952 became one of the five largest in the history of the 20th century.

The population of Severo-Kurilsk before the tragedy was approximately six thousand people. In Paramushir, on the night of November 4–5, the population was awakened by an earthquake. Furnaces were destroyed; dishes and other household utensils fell from shelves; Water splashed out of buckets. Frightened people ran out of their houses. After the tremors stopped, which lasted several minutes, most of the population began to return to their homes. However, some noticed that the sea had retreated from the rocky coast to a distance of about 0.5 km. Those who were previously familiar with the tsunami, mainly fishermen, rushed to the mountains despite the calm sea.

The hearth of the underwater earthquakes was relatively close (within the Kuril-Kamchatka deep-sea trench). In the Pacific Ocean, 200 kilometers southeast of Petropavlovsk, a sea wave rose from the tremors above the epicenter of the earthquake. Accelerating her run and strength, rising higher and higher, she rushed to the shores of Kamchatka and the Kuril Islands. After 40 minutes of running, it grew to eight meters and overwhelmed the land. The lowlands and estuary parts of river valleys were flooded. It had its greatest height in the central part of the city, where it rolled along the river valley. A few minutes later the wave subsided into the sea. Ripping off the earth from the rocks along with trees and bushes, carrying rich prey into the ocean. She licked the outfits of border guards walking along the edge of the shore, watchtowers, boats, boats and kungas, wooden buildings. The bottom of the strait was exposed for several hundred meters. There was a lull.

After 15-20 minutes. A second, even larger wave, 10 meters high, hit the city. It caused particularly severe destruction, washing away all buildings. Behind the wave, only the cement foundations of the houses remained in place. Having passed through the city, the wave reached the slopes of the mountains, after which it began to roll back into the basin located closer to the city center. A huge whirlpool formed here, in which fragments of buildings and small ships rotated at high speed. Rolling back, the wave struck from the rear the coastal rampart in front of the port area, where several houses remained, and broke through the mountain into the Kuril Strait. On the bridge between this island and the mountain, the wave piled up a pile of logs, boxes, and even brought two houses from the city.

A few minutes after the second wave, a weaker, third wave arrived, which washed a lot of debris ashore.

And the country lived an ordinary life. Not a single line was published in the Soviet press about the tragedy: the streets are lined with calico, the Soviet people greet the 35th anniversary of the Great October Revolution with enthusiasm! What kind of thing is there? North Kuril tsunami! The number of its victims is still unknown; according to official data, 2,336 people died in Severo-Kurilsk alone. And the city museum provides data from independent studies: adults - 6060, children under 16 years old - 1742; total – 7802 people. But these are only casualties among the civilian population, but there were also military men and prisoners (and, in general, no one counted these), so we can talk about 13-17 thousand dead

After disasters On the site of the city of Severo-Kurilsk, an almost empty area of several square kilometers was formed. The existence of the city here is reminded only by isolated foundations of buildings demolished by the wave, roofs of houses thrown out of the strait, the central gate of the former stadium and lonely standing monument soldiers of the Soviet army.

In the village of Utesny, all production facilities and buildings were completely destroyed and swept into the ocean. There is only one residential building and a stable left...

As dawn approached, reconnaissance planes from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky appeared over the islands and took photographs of the area. Airplanes dropped warm clothes, blankets, tents and food for the population, who took refuge near the fires. Then a significant part of the population was evacuated to Sakhalin.

Severo-Kurilsk Bay today

Program - "High-profile case - Tsunami classified as Secret." The truth about the tsunami in Severo-Kurilsk - November 5, 1952.

Everyone has heard about the deadly tsunami in Japan, Indonesia and the Philippines, but few people know that our country also fell victim to this natural disaster. On November 5, 1952, a powerful earthquake occurred near the Kuril Islands, resulting in a tsunami with 18-meter waves.

The city of Severo-Kurilsk, located on the island of Paramushir, took the full blow of the disaster. Until 1952, most of the city was located right on the coast, in a natural valley. Tsunamis are, unfortunately, not uncommon in these parts, but the city was completely unprepared for a disaster of this scale. Moreover, at that time there was no reliable information about what a tsunami was and how to behave correctly in such cases.

First, the first wave hit Severo-Kurilsk, the height of which, according to experts, reached 15-18 meters. This happened at 5 am local time. People ran out of their houses in panic, and many managed to get to higher ground. But they did not know that under no circumstances should they return back after the wave recedes into the sea. After the first wave, a second, more destructive one always comes, and then a third.

The residents who went down were covered by the second wave, which arrived 20-30 minutes later. This, according to experts, was the reason for this a large number of victims. According to official data alone, the city of Severo-Kurilsk lost 2,300 people on that terrible November day. In total, about 6,000 people lived in the city at that time. The military took part in eliminating the consequences of the tsunami. On the same day, warm clothes were delivered from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, people were provided with medical care and food was provided.

The city's infrastructure was completely destroyed. It was decided not to restore fish processing plants, a pier, residential buildings, social facilities and a military camp. The damage was too great. The city was rebuilt, and in the place where Severo-Kurilsk was located today there is a port. This terrible event was kept secret; it was not written about in newspapers or broadcast on the radio. They started talking openly about the Severo-Kurilsk tragedy only in the 90s.

After the horror they suffered, the country's leadership began to think about creating a reliable warning system for earthquakes and tsunamis. This primarily concerned the Pacific region. The Kuril Islands, the Kamchatka Peninsula, Sakhalin Island - they all belong to the territory of the Pacific Ring of Fire. This is the name of the region located on the periphery of the Pacific Ocean and characterized by increased seismic activity. It's all about lithospheric plates, at the boundaries of which earthquakes regularly occur. The Pacific plate in this regard is one of the most active on the planet, and its boundaries are even separated into a special zone, called by geophysicists the Pacific Ring of Fire.

More than 60 years have passed since the disaster in Severo-Kurilsk. Today, about 2,500 people live here, mainly employed in the fishing industry. The city was rebuilt, and only the memory monument does not allow us to forget about that terrible day.

Belarusian Dmitry Galkovsky in 1952 found himself at the epicenter of one of the five most powerful tsunamis of the 20th century. Even now he reluctantly recalls the events that happened to him, an ordinary sailor of the Soviet fleet, more than 60 years ago on the Kuril Islands: “I won’t go on board anymore, even for a lot of money. But I would lie on the beach, although I have never been to the sea since then.”

On the night of November 5, a powerful earthquake off the coast of Kamchatka and the Kuril Islands caused a huge tsunami. In just a few hours, three waves up to 18 meters high destroyed the city of Severo-Kurilsk and about 15 villages. The ocean became the grave for, according to various estimates, from 2.3 to 50 thousand people. There was not a single line about this in the Soviet press. The Union was preparing to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the October Revolution.

"We had no choice"

A small green house with a carved porch in the center of Kostyukovichi was lost among the newer neighbors. Few people know that a witness to history, which was sealed under seven seals, lives here. A knock on the gate, a dog barking—86-year-old Dmitry Andreevich comes out of the barn.

“Come on in,- He lets me forward like a gentleman, sits me in a chair, and offers me tea. — I don’t even know why you are so interested in me. I'm just living out my life.".

On the bed there is a commemorative medal from the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations “Marshal Vasily Chuikov”, a memorable address and a blue T-shirt. They were presented to Dmitry Andreevich by the head of the Kostyukovichi Regional Emergency Situations Department Vladimir Petrusevich on the 25th anniversary of the Ministry of Emergency Situations Russian Federation for impeccable service to the cause of civil defense, prevention and liquidation of consequences of emergency situations, high-quality performance of official duties and in connection with the 83rd anniversary of the formation of Civil Defense.

"Haven't worn it yet, - the pensioner smiles, unwrapping gifts. — Maybe the T-shirt will come in handy in the summer. Yes, it was hard for me for this medal.”

Dmitry Andreevich graduated from a two-year vocational school in Klimovichi - he himself is from there. Moreover, he was one of his first students. I worked briefly as a turner at a local agricultural organization when a recruiter appeared in the city.

“People were recruited to work then. I agreed to work as a turner in Nikolaevsk-on-Amur. There were 7 children in our family, we were starving. And I was the eldest - I had to earn money. So I went so far,” explains the pensioner.

From there he was drafted into the army. Dmitry Andreevich, along with thousands of conscripts, was first sent to Komsomolsk-on-Amur, then to the city of Sovetskaya Gavan on the shore of the Tatar Strait.

“25 thousand of us gathered there - both conscripts and those who were demobilized. We were fed by 6 military kitchens. And if you forgot where your tent is, you won’t find it: it’s a whole city,” the grandfather recalls. — The conscripts were checked for a month to select the strongest and healthiest—only those were sent to sea, because what kind of medical care was there? And we had no choice where to serve. I passed the test. We reached the Sea of Okhotsk and the Pacific Ocean through the Tatar Strait. Along the way, the conscripts were taken to the Kuril Islands: there were probably military personnel on each of them.”

Two years "under water"

Private Galkovsky was appointed mechanic. For two years he carried out the captain's commands: full speed, slow, stop, back. I rarely saw the sea - “I was under water”, in the engine room.

“I remember the Japanese wanted to blow up our ship. We walked through neutral waters to Sea of Okhotsk. They battened down all the hatches so that there was not enough air. Two died - they suffocated,” recalls Dmitry Andreevich and thoughtfully looks out the window. Goes silent.

Then he confusedly tells how he had to fight - with the waves, with himself, to help his comrades: “I tolerated the pitching normally, but others, who looked like such strong lads, were so sick - it was scary to watch. Of course, we have been caught in storms more than once, especially in the Gulf. But I didn’t see them, I only felt the ship shaking. There were also things that threw me from wall to wall.”

Private Galkovsky served on light ships - boats, self-propelled barges. I didn’t want to get on the ship, although I could have. Perhaps the decision to stay in the same place saved his life on the night of November 5, 1952.

“People shouted in voices other than their own”

"That day I found myself in distant island- I’m making noise. We were commanded by General Duca (Mikhail Ilyich - Hero Soviet Union, veteran of the Great Patriotic War. — Approx. TUT.BY). On November 4, I took him from Paramushir to Shumshu - it’s about 5 km. We went by boat. Suddenly the sea began to stir, boiled, and the earth shook slightly. All the soldiers jumped out to Shumshu, and then sang songs when they realized that it was not the enemy who was advancing. At that time the situation on the islands was tense; we were constantly waiting for an alarm signal. We lived underground - in bunkers. My bed was there too - with my address and name. So I didn’t even have to stay near her - I stayed overnight on the boat. That’s why I survived,” recalls Dmitry Andreevich.

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Private Galkovsky did not see the wave coming - it was dark. He only heard the tsunami coming. Then logs and rubbish flew, and a crash was heard. The light boat was lifted to the very crest of the wave, and then it “sank” down. The water tore the light ship apart.

Saved the Belarusian and some of his colleagues big ship. They were fed, warmed, and added to the lists of survivors. Most of people died. Most likely, many of them drowned in those same underground bunkers, the pensioner believes.

“It was scary. I remember how people shouted in voices that were not their own: “Save us!” And who will save? Go and collect them Pacific Ocean, - Dmitry Andreevich shakes his head and says that he remembers practically nothing about that day or the following month. “I only remember that I asked how I could get into the unit.” And they told me that my unit was no more: everyone died, the banner sank. I don’t remember how we were sent from the islands; I only came to my senses in Vladivostok. I was commissioned. My legs were injured, but I moved, although it was painful. It seems that a finger on my hand was also broken.”

Galkovsky says that he did not know that they were silent about the tsunami and that the information was classified. But no one asked him to hide where he was and what he experienced: “Who's to say? The commanders drowned.”

The 1952 tsunami almost started a nuclear war. There was a border post in Severo-Kurilsk; Soviet military bases and strike units directed against the United States and Japan were located on the islands. After the first wave hit, a panicked telegram arrived from one of the warships, from which it was not clear what was happening. Moscow was deciding whether it was a nuclear strike. However, the commander of the navy convinced that this was due to the earthquake that was felt in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.

A few hours later, the tsunami wave reached the Hawaiian Islands, 3000 km from the Kuril Islands. Flood on Midway Island (Hawaii, USA) caused by the North Kuril tsunami.
On the site of the former Severo-Kurilsk. June 1953

“The land is closer to Belarusians”

Without completing the allotted 1.5 years, Dmitry Andreevich returned to Klimovichi, “came to his senses and got a job.” First, in the village of Vysokoye, Klimovichi district, as an excavator operator. Then he worked at a distillery. Then I met my future wife.

“I had a brother-in-law from Dnepropetrovsk in Klimovichi. In the evening, as I remember now, we washed ourselves, and he said: “Let’s go.” A friend arrived by car - let’s go meet a good girl.” She worked as a nurse at the Kostyukovichi hospital,” the pensioner recalls with a smile. - We've been together since then. I moved here for her... My Olga Arkhipovna died. For a long time".

The children - twins Irina and Victor - often visit the old man. My daughter comes every day at lunch. Dmitry Andreevich says that she helps and supports him a lot. And the pensioner himself assembles a tractor in his spare time.

“I’m tinkering with the dirt, assembling homemade items,” says the grandfather, not without pride, and leads him into the barn. The guard dog Rex happily rushes towards his owner and licks his hands. Near the future tractor, Dmitry Galkovsky awkwardly shifts from foot to foot: “Well, something seems to be working out.” I don’t know if it will work, but I plan to plow my garden with it. I want to collect it by spring.”

The former sailor admits that after the army he never went to sea. And he doesn’t really want to, except to relax on the beach.

“I don’t dream about the ocean. I will live out my life on earth - it is closer to Belarusians,”- Dmitry Galkovsky says goodbye at the gate. Finally, he is interested in the weather for the near future - he is worried that his favorite cherry tree is being tossed by the wind: “ She produces a lot of berries every year. Very tasty - sweet, large. You come, I’ll treat you.”

He also adds that he is not the only Belarusian who survived the tsunami in the Kuril Islands. They just don’t know about people like him and don’t talk about them in schools.