Thousands flee flooding in southern Russia
Russian emergency services said they had evacuated thousands of people from the southern regions bordering Kazakhstan as flood water continued to rise.
Fast-rising temperatures have melted snow and ice, and along with heavy rain have caused a number of major rivers that pass through Russia and Kazakhstan to overflow this month.
In the city of Orenburg, one of the worst affected areas in Russia, the Ural River has breached its banks, submerging streets and residential areas and water levels continued to rise on Saturday.
On Saturday afternoon, the river level reached almost 12m, more than 2.5m above the level considered critical.
Regional governor Denis Pasler said in a press release yesterday that “as of today the situation remains complex. In Orenburg the flood is at the maximum peak.” The Ural River flows through the centre of Orenburg.
Flood water covered the embankment promenade and swirled around houses and high-rise apartment blocks built close to the river.
More than 13,000 people have been evacuated from Orenburg and the surrounding region and more than 11,000 homes have been flooded, according to the Emergency Situations Ministry.
Eldar Rakhmetov, a ministry official involved in the evacuation, said that in Orenburg “there has been an increase in the number of homes flooded since this morning and more areas are being evacuated.”
Residents were using rubber dinghies to retrieve pets and belongings and some areas were left without power.
Valery, 64, a local factory worker, was one of those evacuated on Saturday by a police truck.
“The most important thing is that (my house) does not get looted. That is what I am worried about. Other than that, it is fine! We will survive,” he said.
The ministry said that in the Kurgan region further east, the level of the Tobol River was continuing to rise steeply and more than 6,000 people had been evacuated.
The governor, Vadim Shumkov, urged residents likely to be affected to leave now.
“The water is treacherous and when there is so much of it, it rises unpredictably,” Shumkov warned on Telegram, urging people to leave with valuables and pets.
“My fellow Kurgan people, you must evacuate urgently. Urgently!” the governor posted later.