Flood waters rose in two cities in Russia’s Ural Mountains on Sunday after Europe’s third-longest river burst its dam, inundating at least 6,000 homes and forcing thousands to evacuate. .
The Ural River, which rises in the Ural Mountains and flows into the Caspian Sea, rose several meters in just a few hours on Friday, causing a dam embankment 1,800 kilometers (1,100 miles) east of Orsk, one of the worst-hit cities. I broke through. Moscow.
More than 4,000 people, including 885 children, were evacuated in Orsk as large areas of the city of 230,000 people in the Orenburg region were flooded. Footage released by the Ministry of Emergencies showed people wading through neck-high water, rescuing stranded dogs and navigating flooded roads in boats and canoes. Ta.
State news agency TASS reported that six adults and three children were hospitalized in Orsk, but their injuries were not life-threatening.
The Russian government declared a federal state of emergency in the Orenburg region, with the region’s governor, Dennis Passler, saying it was the worst flooding to hit the region since records began. Flooding was recorded in the entire 2,400 km (1,500 mile) Ural River basin.
President Vladimir Putin ordered Emergencies Minister Alexander Klenkov to fly to the site. The Kremlin announced on Sunday that flooding was also inevitable in Kurgan in the Urals region and Tyumen in the Siberian region.
According to the Kremlin, President Putin spoke by phone with regional governors.
The worst flooding in decades has hit parts of neighboring Kazakhstan, as well as a string of Russian regions in the Ural Mountains and Siberia.
Images from Orsk and Orenburg showed roads dotted with one-story houses covered in water.
In the city of Kurgan, with a population of 310,000 people, authorities ordered residents of riverside districts to evacuate immediately, fearing flooding would soon reach the city.
Russian media reported that Orenburg regional authorities estimated the cost of local flood damage at around 21 billion rubles ($227 million) and said the floodwaters would disappear only after April 20.
“The water is coming and the water level will only rise in the coming days,” said Sergei Salmin, the mayor of Orenburg, a city of more than 550,000 people. “The flood situation remains critical.”
Klenkov said bottled water and mobile treatment plants are needed, and local health officials said hepatitis A vaccinations are being carried out in flooded areas.
Flood warnings have been issued in other parts of Russia, and Klenkov said the situation could deteriorate quickly.
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Local officials said the Orsk dam was built with a water level of 5.5 meters (18 feet) in mind, but the Ural River’s water level rose to 9.6 meters (31.5 feet).
Federal investigators have filed criminal charges over the construction of the dam in 2010, alleging negligence and violations of safety regulations, but prosecutors say the dam was not properly maintained.
The Orsk refinery stopped work on Sunday due to flooding. Last year, the Orsk refinery processed 4.5 million tons of oil.
Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said on Saturday that the floods were the country’s worst natural disaster in 80 years in terms of scale and impact.
State media KCNA reported that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un expressed sympathy to President Putin over the floods and emphasized the strengthening of ties between Moscow and North Korea following last year’s summit.
“Our people will always be with the Russian people,” Kim said.
The Associated Press contributed reporting.
