The governor of the Russian region of Orenburg announced that the rupture of the Orsk dam on the Urals had led to the flooding of 2,500 homes.
More than 4,000 people were evacuated from a flooded area following the rupture of a dam on Friday in the Russian region of Orenburg, in the Urals, regional authorities announced on Saturday, the incident also taking place in the middle of melt of ice. “4,208 people, including 1,019 children, were evacuated”announced on Telegram the press service of the regional governor, Denis Pasler.
In total, just over 2,500 houses were “flooded” in this border region of Kazakhstan, they specified in a press release.
Evacuees are redirected “towards temporary accommodation centers”specified Denis Pasler in a separate message, announcing exceptional financial aid.
These significant floods come the day after the rupture of a dam on Friday in Orsk, a town located on the border with neighboring Kazakhstan, explained the regional prosecutor’s office, which is monitoring the case.
According to this source, “a warning” at the town hall of Orsk was given in March regarding a “violation of legislation on the protection of the population and territories from natural and man-made emergencies”.
According to regional authorities, the dam, which partially collapsed, is officially designed for a level of the Urals, the region’s great river, of 5.5 m, compared to 9.6 meters currently.
Melt of ice
The regional authorities, for their part, also mentioned the melting of the snow which causes “the climb” rivers in the region – including the Urals – such as “reason” additional to flooding.
The Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations published a video of the evacuations, showing water entering houses, civilians being evacuated by rescuers with their feet in the water.
Some elderly people were helped by several rescuers to leave their flooded homes, according to these images.
These floods due to melting snow are also affecting Kazakhstan, a country bordering Russia, which prompted President Kassym-Jomart Tokaïev to speak out in a televised speech.
The leader spoke on Saturday “a natural disaster”, “perhaps the biggest, in terms of scale and consequences, of the last 80 years”.
“The situation is difficult, but we must not despair (…) The main thing is to avoid human losses”he assured, announcing that“due to flooding, local emergencies have been declared in ten regions of the country”.
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