Ural flooding declared an ‘emergency’ by Russia

Russia’s government yesterday declared flooding in the Orenburg region a federal emergency.

The floods, caused by rising water levels in the Ural River, have forced more than 4,000 people, including 885 children, to evacuate, the regional government said.

State news agency Tass said a further 2,000 homes were flooded, taking the total in the area to nearly 6,300.

Russia’s Emergency Situations Minister Alexander Kurenkov yesterday arrived in Orsk – one of the hardesthit cities – to supervise rescue operations.

“I propose classifying the situation in the Orenburg region as a federal emergency and establishing a federal level of response,” the minister said, according to RIA Novosti.

Orsk, less than 13 miles (20km) north of the border with Kazakhstan, suffered the brunt of the floods, which caused a dam to break on Friday, according to Orsk Mayor Vasily Kozupitsa. By yesterday morning, 4,500 residential buildings in the city with a population of 200,000 were flooded and evacuation efforts were continuing.

A criminal probe has been launched to investigate suspected construction violations that may have caused the dam to break.

Local authorities said the dam could withstand water levels up to 18ft (5.5). On Saturday morning, the water level had reached 30.51ft (9.3m) and was still rising, Mr Kozupitsa said. Yesterday, the level in Orsk reached 31.82ft (9.7m), according to Russia's water level information site Allrivers.

Officials in Orsk reported yesterday that four people had died, but said their deaths were not related to the flooding. Footage from Orsk and nearby regional capital Orenburg showed water covering the streets dotted with single-storey houses.