Aftermath of the hurricane in Odesa region: estuaries became part of the sea and the next trees should be planted taking into account the changing climate situation – ecologist

As a result of powerful storms, limans southwest of Odesa joined the sea, and the main impact of the storm was on the temporarily occupied Crimea: Odesa was lucky in comparison.

This was stated at a briefing at the Ukraine-Odesa Media Center by Vladyslav Balinsky, an environmentalist and head of the Green Leaf NGO.

“Sand spits broke through on the Tuzly estuaries, and the estuaries connected to the sea during the previous storm on November 18. The last powerful storm added even more water to the Tuzly estuaries due to the wind. This temporarily solved the environmental problems. More seawater has managed to fill all three estuaries, and it is a source of life for them. This is good news for environmentalists and local residents,” the ecologist said.

According to Balinsky, the city on the coast was not badly affected by the hurricane, as the main impact of the disaster was in the west of the temporarily occupied Crimea.

“The cyclone has been changing throughout its existence. It came to us in the form of a westerly wind. Cape Bolshoi Fontan protected Odesa from the storm. The low areas of our city, such as Peresyp and Luzanovka, were naturally protected from the effects of the storm, and in the center of Odesa, coastal protection structures built 60 years ago saved the city. The only thing is that a lot of sand from the beaches was washed into the sea, so in the spring we will have to take it out of the bottom and restore the beaches again,” the ecologist noted.

Vladyslav Balinsky emphasized that compared to the wind speed in the city, not many trees fell – it could have been more.

“If you look closely, branches with leaves that did not have time to fly around fell. There was a lot of greenery left in Odesa after the warm fall. Under the weight of the snow, they were broken by the strong wind. Trees were also falling at the roots because it had rained before, the ground was wet, and the windage of the trees with leaves was still high. Mostly old trees fell – ash trees, poplars. All with green leaves. But forecasters warned that there would be a storm. In the future, we need to reconsider the concept of planting new plants in the city, because the climate is changing, it’s getting warmer. Therefore, we need to decide which new trees will provide a good shade in summer and not fall from storms in winter,” summarized Balinsky

Read more: https://mediacenter.org.ua/news