Flood waters rose in two cities in Russia’s Ural mountains on Sunday when Europe’s third-longest river burst through a dam, flooding at least 10,000 houses and forcing thousands of people to evacuate with just their pets and a few belongings.
In recent days, some of the worst floods in decades struck a string of Russian areas in the Ural Mountains and Siberia, as well as parts of neighboring Kazakhstan.
The Ural River, which springs in the Ural Mountains and flows into the Caspian Sea, rose several metres in only hours on Friday due to melt water, bursting through a dam embankment in the city of Orsk, 1,800 kilometres (1,100 miles) southeast of Moscow.
Vasily Kozupitsa, the mayor of Orsk, said a second river in the town, the Yelshanka, had also burst its banks. Evacuation of residents from affected areas was underway.
According to local authorities, around 6,100 individuals have already been evacuated from the 230,000-person metropolis. Fifteen of the school’s forty were inundated.
The Emergencies Ministry released footage showing people wading through neck-high waters, rescuing stranded dogs, and traveling along flooded roads in boats and canoes.
President Vladimir Putin directed Emergencies Minister Alexander Kurenkov to travel to the region.
The Kremlin announced on Sunday that flooding was now unavoidable in the Urals region of Kurgan and the Siberian region of Tyumen.
“Putin spoke with the regional governors over the phone”, the Kremlin added.
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