MOSCOW: The number of flooded houses in Russia’s Orenburg Region has increased to 12,800, and more than 7,700 people have been evacuated, the regional government said.
“As many as 7,703 people, including 1,707 children, have been evacuated from [flooded] houses and private land plots,” the government said in a statement carried by TASS.
In Orsk, hit hardest by the floods, 6,793 houses have been affected, with 2,616 people being evacuated.
The partial collapse of a dam in Orsk, second largest city of Russia’s Orenburg Region, occurred in two places on the night of April 6. Another breach took place on the evening of the same day. The regional authorities have declared a federal emergency. The worst flooding is expected in Orenburg later on Wednesday.
Levels of the Ural River in Orenburg have risen by 81 cm over the past day to exceed the danger level, the southwest Russian city’s municipal authorities said.
Earlier, First Vice-Mayor Alexey Kudinov said the level stood at 965 cm.
“Over the past 24 hours,
the water level in the Ural River has increased by 81 cm. As of 8:00 a.m. local time (4:00 a.m. GMT – TASS), the water level in the Ural River has reached 978 cm,” the authorities said in a statement, citing a local weather center.
Floodwaters rose past the danger level of 930 cm last evening and the level is still growing, officials said. According to forecasts, it may increase by another 30 cm to 70 cm on Wednesday.
Source: Emirates News Agency
