In the Orenburg region, near the border with Kazakhstan in Russia, severe flooding occurred due to the breaking of a river dam by ice melt. More than 4,000 residents have already been evacuated.
The water level of the Ural River in Orenburg may flow to dangerous levels in the next three days, the Meteorological Office has warned. News: Reuters and Taser.
Authorities said they feared the flood could reach its peak on Tuesday. The situation may come under control after April 20.
Russia’s Ural Mountains and parts of Siberia have been hit by the worst floods in decades. In addition, several thousand people had to be evacuated from 10 northern regions of Kazakhstan due to flooding.
Kazakhstan’s Emergencies Ministry said on Sunday that they have kept 12,000 people in temporary camps for now.
On the other hand, the Russian authorities announced the evacuation of 4,500 people from the vicinity of the city of Orsk in the Orenburg region on Saturday. In the video footage, people were seen walking in water up to their necks.
Compared to normal monsoon floods, this severe flood has occurred due to melting ice. The Ural River originates in the Ural Mountains and flows into the Caspian Sea. Due to the freezing water, the water in the river swelled, and the dam in Orsk city broke in just a few hours last Friday.
The Kremlin has warned that water levels in some places are rising faster than at any time in the last 100 years.
