Chapter 27 – Epilogue
Just one week after the Day of the Dead festival, heavy rainstorms swept across central Europe. The rain continued unabated throughout October and the early part of November. In December the rain turned into snow in the higher elevations. By New Years Eve a snowstorm hit and soon all of Danubia was buried under a solid white veil of ice. A major cold snap hit the Danubian Republic and the neighboring countries, a grip of cold that did not let up for three months.
As the winter dragged on and the snow kept falling, meteorologists started comparing that winter to the brutally cold winter 1942-43, during which the weather played a major role in determining the outcome of World War II. All of the smaller rivers froze over completely, including the Rika Chorna that flowed from the eastern part of the country into Danube City. A thick sheet of ice formed over the Rika Chorna Reservoir, which forced the nation's power plant to reduce operations. For the first time in many years Danubia had to import natural gas to get through the winter.
The cold was so severe that Danube City's criminals were forced to wear their capes, which was considered a major humiliation. For several months the bright orange and yellow capes stood out among the mostly drab colors of civilians' winter clothing. Of course, the capes had to be taken off the moment criminals stepped into any building, so they were a major inconvenience for their wearers, as well as being an embarrassment on the street.
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Vladim Dukov became increasingly worried as the winter progressed and the snow-pack continued to build on the Danubian mountain ranges. By the middle of February the snow on the mountains was at record levels. Yes, right now the business was great for the ski lodges, but the Prime Minister's worries went past ski season. Spring was coming, and with it the snowmelt.
At the end of February, the Prime Minister of Danubia stood on the top of the dam of the Rika Chorna Reservoir, along with the Minister of Energy and a team of engineers. The frozen lake was full to capacity and the snow on the mountains had not even started to melt. The Energy Minister and a couple of the engineers overheard their leader say to himself:
"This is the year...this is the year it's going to happen."
Dukov turned to the others:
"We're going to need to put everything we've got into trying to drain off this water. I want evacuation plans set up for all of the towns along this entire region, because I can guarantee that we will need them. I want a plan to commandeer all trucks and buses...everything this country has. And we'll need to rent some buses and dump-trucks from the other EU countries and bring them in. I want bulldozers and backhoes...lots of them...and diesel...and experienced drivers. I don't care where you get them or how much it costs; we need them here by the end of next week. And sandbags and cement pilings. We need to get started on flood levies immediately."
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Three weeks later the temperature rose and heavy rains fell across Danubia. All of the nation's criminals, along with all of the younger public employees, university and high school students, and army soldiers, worked feverishly on constructing levies and digging trenches. The drafted crews worked 16-hours shifts as they battled a seemingly hopeless situation. The rain poured down around the teams of workers as they shivered in the cold water. It seemed futile to stop the coming flood, but everyone knew that the country had to at least try.
There was one thing the levee crews did not need to worry about, saving civilians. Just hours before the flooding started, convoys of buses moved through the villages to evacuate the population. By the time the area was under water the civilians already were safely out of the way.
There was flooding along the entire Rika Chorna valley, but the hastily constructed levies kept most of the water confined to the agricultural areas and slowly moved it towards the East Danube River. Anyhow, the Prime Minister was not really worried about the situation in the valley. His concern was the dam. The spillways were filled to capacity and water was starting to flow over the top. The rain continued to pour onto the mountains and torrents of cold water made their way through the thick forests, carrying mud and fallen trees into the lake. On the news the Danubians watched their Prime Minister, in shirt sleeves and soaking wet, sitting with boat crews as they worked to try to keep ice and debris out of the spillways and away from the dam. It was vital those spillways not be blocked. While sitting in his boat, Dukov was continuously on his cell phone, talking to forest rangers who were monitoring the hills above the reservoir. He knew that if those hills gave way and collapsed into the lake, there would be, at best, about 30 minutes to evacuate Danube City.
For a week the situation stayed the same...the countryside was flooded but most of the towns were kept dry. Water continued to pour into the lake at about the same rate it poured out through the dam. The water level rose along the East Danube River and completely flooded out the beaches and the forested area behind the Temple of the Ancients. There was a moment during which the water was within a few centimeters of the platform where most people began Public Penance. The docks were underwater and part of the industrial area of Danube City flooded, but fortunately the private residences and downtown area were spared. There were scares, of course, and a few broken levies that were quickly fixed. The nation held its breath...
The rain did not let up until mid April. There was a week of hot, sunny days and slowly the water receded from the landscape. Eventually even the situation in the reservoir improved. Water stopped flowing over the top of the dam and went where it was supposed to go, into the spillways. Dukov, as always, was out on the lake in his boat with teams of engineers, constantly checking on the dam. The cell phone was always in his hand, as he continuously called to monitor what was going on in the mountains. News commentators noted that he was being reckless with his own safety, because if that dam were to give way, he most certainly would be killed. To that the Prime Minister responded:
"I am just a single citizen of this country. I have my job to do, just like everyone else I drafted to come here and assist in this effort. In the eyes of the Creator, my life is no more important than that of anyone else."
By the beginning of May, the flooding in the farming areas had partially receded. Water still continued to pour off the mountains, but the dam's engineers had managed to lower the level of the reservoir to a level that no longer put the structure in immediate danger. Finally Dukov was able to leave the crews on the water and go into the mountains to examine the hillsides that overlooked the lake. Forest rangers pointed out that the woods were heavily damaged and covered with fallen trees. There were large portions of hillsides that barely were being held in place by tree roots. One geologist commented:
