A Russian Emergency Situations Ministry rescuer evacuates residents from a flood zone in Orsk. More than 100,000 people have been evacuated from their homes as a result of the flooding. Photo by Russian Emergency Situations Ministry Press Service/EPA-EFE
The third-longest river in Europe has burst from its banks joining others as floods have swept across parts of Russia and Kazakstan with more flooding on the way, according to multiple reports.
Melting snow was the cause of the Ural River flooding which has so far forced more than 100,000 people to be evacuated as protests have sprung up against Russian authorities over the government’s response. Advertisement
A spokesperson for the Kremlin in Moscow said the unfolding situation is “very, very tense” as water levels continue to rise in the area surrounding the Russian city of Orenburg where the water rose to over 33 feet, past its bursting point.
Up to 2,000 Orenburg homes have been flooded where the population is over 500,000 citizens slightly north of the northwest corner of Kazakstan.
“Large amounts of water are coming to new regions,” Russian government spokesman Dmitry Peskov warned the public on Wednesday. Advertisement
But flooding is likely to keep up through mid-April. A Russian Red Cross official said late Wednesday morning that the agency “has mobilized to provide (flood victims) with essentials and psychosocial support.”
“The worst flood in decades has affected people in Orenburg Oblast in Russia. Over ten thousand homes are damaged,” John Entwistle posted on X.
Peskov told reporters Wednesday the forecast so far “is unfavorable. The water level continues to rise in flood-affected areas,” and that “large amount” of water will soon get to the Kurgan and Tyumen regions of southern Russia right above Kazakstan, a former Soviet satellite state independent since 1991.
He added how the flood situation “of course requires the most energetic efforts from government officials at all levels to help people.” Dozens of cities and small towns have been flooded.
Peskov said there are no plans for President Vladimir Putin to visit the flood-stricken areas. But Putin was set to receive reports sometime Wednesday from governors of the three affected Russian regions: Orenburg, Tyumen and Kurgan which is expected to get further flooding through Sunday.
It has been described as the worst flooding to hit that region of Europe in 80 years. Advertisement
The current flooding “might be the biggest disaster in terms of its scale and impact in more than 80 years,” according to Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
Reports had indicated that floodwaters are currently threatening many areas of northern Kazakstan as dams and rivers have reportedly filled to their known capacity.
The Astana Times said Wednesday that roughly 25,000 volunteers had come together to collect nearly 553 tons of humanitarian aid with over 370 tons having already been delivered to areas impacted by the floods.
That morning it was reported that Kazakstan’s oil operations were proceeding normally despite flooding.
More than 96,472 people, including 31,640 children, have been rescued and evacuated since flooding began, according to Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Emergency Situations as of Wednesday morning local time.
On Tuesday, Kazakhstan’s president took to social media to say how his country was “sincerely grateful for the willingness of our friends to show solidarity in the difficult time of confronting floods with unprecedented destructive power.”
“It is gratifying that at the time of difficult trials, our people once again showed themselves at their best, demonstrating an example of unity and perseverance,” the president said Tuesday on Instagram.
“I sincerely thank the citizens of Kazakhstan!” the president added. Advertisement
The Russian government claims it had issued an emergency evacuation “a week ago” but the public “chose not to leave” over it being a “joke.”
“This is nonsense,” a Russian resident of Orsk retorted. “There was no warning.”
“It’s like in the Soviet Union: if a catastrophe occurs, first, it must be covered up,” Yulia Navalnaya, the wife of the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, said Tuesday on X.
But an international affairs expert backed up some of the claims of Russia’s inaction, saying how the government “is doing nothing to help: no emergency equipment, no equipment capable of pumping water and rescuers travel through populated areas in rubber boats, half of which have already fallen into disrepair,” Anna Komsa said Wednesday morning on social media.
