Russia declares federal flood emergency after Ural River dike breach

Floodwaters rose in two cities in Russia's Ural Mountains on April 7 after Europe's third-longest river burst its banks, inundating more than 6,000 homes and forcing thousands of people to evacuate.

Flooded scene after a dike breach in the city of Orsk, Orenburg region, Russia (Photo: SPUTNIK)

More than 4,000 people - including 885 children - were evacuated in Orsk as parts of the city of 230,000 in the Orenburg region were severely flooded. Video released by Russia's Emergencies Ministry showed people wading through neck-high water, rescuing trapped dogs and navigating flooded streets in boats and canoes.

After the Ural River rose to dangerous levels due to melting ice, a state of emergency was declared across the entire region on April 5 (local time).

The Ural River usually floods in spring, but heavy rains and rising temperatures have led to melting ice, causing the river near the city of Orsk to be nearly 1 meter higher than normal.

The high, fast-flowing river broke through a dike that normally diverts water away from the city and began flooding Orsk’s old town on the evening of April 5. Two cracks in the Ural River dike were discovered hours before the breach. Local authorities said nearly 11,000 people live in the flood zone and up to 4,200 homes could be affected.

The first evacuation orders were issued on the evening of April 5. The Russian Emergencies Ministry has deployed more than 530 specialists, 125 vehicles and 75 ships to participate in the rescue effort.

The worst floods in decades have hit a series of Russian regions in the Ural Mountains and Siberia, along with areas of neighboring Kazakhstan in recent days.

Russian media quoted the Orenburg regional government as estimating the damage caused by flooding from the Ural River dike breach in the region at around 21 billion rubles ($227 million) and that floodwaters were expected to recede only after April 20.

In neighboring Kazakhstan, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev on April 6 declared the flood the country's biggest natural disaster in terms of scale and impact in the past 80 years.

Compiled by NGUYEN TAN

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