Part of the evacuation operations (Anatolia)
The Russian authorities evacuated about 4,500 people from an area flooded after a dam collapsed on Friday in the Russian Orenburg region in the Ural Mountains, according to what regional authorities said, confirming that the floods had swept 9 regions.
The authorities indicated that "water flooded" a little more than 6,000 homes in this area located near the border with Kazakhstan.
Russian President Vladimir Putin gave instructions to Emergencies Minister Alexander Korenkov to head to the region, according to what Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in the evening.
For his part, Regional Governor Dennis Bassler explained that the evacuees will be transferred “to temporary residence centers,” announcing exceptional financial assistance, and stressed that the situation in the region is difficult and that the extent of the damage is large.
In turn, the Russian mayor of Orenburg said on Sunday that the flood situation in the city is still "critical" and that the water level will continue to rise in the coming days.
Meanwhile, Russian news agencies reported that the Orsk Oil Refinery suspended work on Sunday after a dam in the city was damaged on Friday evening as a result of floods that struck the Orenburg region.
The Russian Information Agency indicated that the suspension of operations aims to avoid environmental risks.
Water flooded about 6,000 homes (Anatolia Agency)
These large floods come the day after the collapse of a dam, on Friday, in the city of Orsk, located on the border with neighboring Kazakhstan, according to what the Public Prosecution Office, which is following up on the file, explained.
The dam, which partially collapsed, was designed to have a height equal to the level of the large Ural River in the region, i.e. 5.5 metres, but the river level has now risen to 9.6 meters due to the melting of snow, according to regional authorities.
The mayor of Orenburg, Sergei Salmin, said, "The water level of the Ural River will continue to rise," warning that it may "reach a critical level." He urged "everyone to immediately leave their homes in the flooded area," before resorting to "force" to force them to do so.
Kazakhstan, which borders Russia, was also affected by floods caused by melting snow, prompting President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to deliver a televised speech yesterday, Saturday, in which he spoke of a “natural disaster” that he described as “probably the largest in terms of size and consequences in the past 80 years.”
The President of Kazakhstan announced a state of emergency in "10 regions of the country."
Source: French