March 13, 1961, the Kureniv tragedy happened in Kyiv - a man-made disaster, when the mudflow from Babyn Yar through the wrecked dam flooded Kurenivka and caused numerous victims.
The catastrophe happened extremely quickly and people did not have time to escape. The situation was significantly complicated because it was the morning of the working day, in fact, the rush hour. The epicentre of the tragedy was the Frunze St. and Krasin depot, which was destroyed along with most of the workers (nearly 50 people died).
The official authorities kept silence about the consequences of the Kureniv tragedy, the real numbers of the dead were never declared - only the death of 145 people was announced, while according to unofficial figures, about 1,500 people died during the tragedy. The accident destroyed 22 private single-storeyed buildings, 5 two-story buildings, 12 single-storeyed buildings, and two hostels. Material damage amounted to over 3 million karbovanets.
The victim was paid compensation - those who lost their relatives were paid 200 karbovanets; more than 400 people got a new home. But the worst and most painful was the fact that the Soviet authorities not only concealed and diminished the scale and effects of the accident but also forbade the mention of its victims. Only during the years of Ukrainian independence, their memory was duly respected - several memorial signs and a monument were installed.
