ST.PETERSBURG. March 19 (Interfax-AVN) - The commander of the Leningrad military district determined measures aimed at providing aid to the Russian Emergencies Ministry in case of disasters. "Eighteen rescue teams are being established in the district, and engineering units have provided six amtracks, six towboats and six sets of pontoons," a source in the district headquarters told Interfax-Military News Agency on Wednesday. According to the source, the 6th air force and air defense army will provide four SU-24M Fencer frontline bombers for the destruction of ice jams during the flood while SU-24MR and AN-12 Cub planes and MI-8 Hip helicopters will be provided for surveillance in areas that suffer from emergencies. The ministry foresees the most serious floods in the Leningrad, Vologda, Arkhangelsk, Pskov and Novgorod regions and the Karelian and Komi autonomous republics where the district's troops are stationed. Over 230 communities, including restricted-access and hard- to-reach compounds, might find themselves in flooded areas. The floods will reach its peak from late March to early April. By that time, the ministry plans to have established a mobile group comprising some 20,000 people and 5,000 pieces of equipment. This year, 302 permanent hydrological posts will report on the flood situation in the region. They will be assisted by 36 temporary posts that are to be established in the most dangerous areas. A network for observation and laboratory control is being established on the basis of 190 centers of the State Sanitary and Epidemiological Inspection in order to control the environment situation.