In the past, Lithuania was a country with a much harsher climate. Meteorological winter often began in the second half of November and continued until the second half of March or even longer. Due to rare showers, a thick snow cover accumulated during the winter, which started to melt in March. Sometimes the melting was extremely fast, causing large amounts of water to enter rivers in a short period of time, causing major floods. Sometimes the water level rose particularly sharply due to the formed ice floes.
One such flood occurred in Kaunas in 1936. in the first half of March. VU hydrologist Assoc. Dr. Gintaras Valiushkevičius (language not corrected).
“A sad sight for Minkauskas, Jonavas, Kalvii, etc. in flooded streets. People’s furniture and belongings are broken, overturned, and those that could not be removed are soaking in water. (…) Boats sail by the pontoon bridge and horse-drawn carriages drive by. Horses wade through the water up to their bellies, period, and trucks and light carriages drag through the water with as many people sitting on them as possible. (…) The story is the same at the Vytautas church. The church has two doors, but both are flooded and within a few meters. the door cannot be accessed. There is also water in the church.” (“Lithuanian News”, 1936-03-10).
“The people of Kaunas wait every minute for Nemunas news. They walk in groups along the edges of Nemunas and Neris. Inspects flooded areas. Phone inquiries day and night. Residents of lower areas that have not yet been flooded, who have not settled elsewhere, are afraid to fall asleep. (…) Yesterday, Nemunas and Neris did not move a bit during the whole day. Ice cream has always surrounded Kaunas from both sides.” (…) On Kęstutis street, water covered almost all yards from Daukantas street to Maironios street and beyond it to the Nemunas side. (…) And what to say about where there is water in the street up to one and a half and two meters. In Vilijampolė, the factory of “Inkaros” calicoes and rubber products was also flooded. Due to the sudden rise of the water, even the director of the factory could not return home in his car that day.” (“Echo of Lithuania”, 1936-03-12).
LHMT inf. and photo
