Tyumen, one of Siberia’s largest cities, made national headlines in July when flooding along the local Tura River began to resemble scenes of a biblical plague. Unusually heavy rain fell nearly every day in June and July, pushing the river to 8.96 meters (29.4 feet) by early August, just below the 9.15-meter record set in 1979. As the water rose, local residents complained of an unbearable stench coming from the river and reported seeing scores…