Ice tsunami at dudinka, Russia (source: Russian Sea, May 2010).
Sea level rise is the greatest threat to the Russian coast, as the water is rising up the mountain ranges and into the estuary. In the last several years, more than half of the Russian coast has already suffered from flooding, and the problem is only going to get worse. To illustrate the severity of the issue, here is a brief description of two Russian coastal towns at different elevations that are currently flooded.
A coastal town at 1,500 meters on the Black Sea coast.
(source: Krasnodar, Russia, November 2011).
A coastal town at 2,300 meters on the Black Sea coast.
(source: Krasnodar, Russia, March 2011).
So, the threat to the Russian coast is real. In order to cope with the flooding problem, the Kremlin has invested several billion dollars in coastal protection projects, including