Spring floods in Russia: Two dams have broken, the Urals are flooding, and almost 6,300 houses are said to be under water.

Enlarge image

Patrolling the flooded areas in the Russian city of Orsk

Photo: SNA / IMAGO

In mid-western Russia, two dams broke due to the beginning of spring floods. The area on the southern foothills of the Ural Mountains is particularly affected. In the large city of Orsk alone, with more than 200,000 inhabitants, 4,500 houses are under water, the authorities report. Videos and pictures showed that in some cases only roofs were sticking out of the water. A state of emergency was officially declared in the region.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Sunday that there was also a threat of flooding in the areas around the cities of Kurgan and Tyumen. The Tass news agency quotes him as saying that they are “inevitable”.

Civil Defense Minister Alexander Kurenkov, who was summoned to the region by Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin, spoke on Sunday of a “critical situation” in Orsk. More than 4,000 people were brought to safety and eleven emergency shelters were set up for more than 8,000 people. Four deaths were also reported in Orsk, but authorities said they had nothing to do with the flood.

Orsk is located around 1,700 kilometers southeast of the capital Moscow and near the border with the Central Asian Republic of Kazakhstan.

According to authorities, after a first dam burst, a second dam burst occurred on Saturday. The first broke on Friday evening due to the pressure of water from the Ural Mountains, where ice and snow melt. Parts of the old town of Orsk were inundated by the floods on Saturday.

People want to stay in their homes

Rescue workers reported that some people resisted the evacuation because they hoped the situation would improve. But that is not in sight for the time being, it was said. In addition, a further increase in flooding was expected due to rainfall.

According to the mayor's office, the situation in the regional capital Orenburg also deteriorated because the water level of the Ural River there rose by 28 centimeters within 24 hours. Around 1,600 properties there were flooded. Water levels also rose in other rivers in the region.

The public prosecutor's office has initiated criminal proceedings for negligence in the wake of the floods. The background could be an inspection of the dam by the technical supervisory authority Rostechnadzor in 2020. 38 deficiencies were identified and their rectification was ordered. It was unclear whether this happened. The mayor of Orsk said at an on-site visit last week that the dam was robust.

dpa/löw