110,000 Flee Massive Flooding In Russia, Kazakhstan

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News

MOSCOW/BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – Widespread flooding across cities and towns in Russia and Kazakhstan led to the evacuation of over 110,000 people from their homes after Europe’s third-longest river burst its banks.

Massive melt water has overwhelmed scores of settlements in Russia’s Ural Mountains, Siberia, Volga and areas of Kazakhstan.

The troubles come after major rivers such as the Ural, which flows into the Caspian Sea rose more 70 cm (2 foot 3 inches) beyond its bursting point to over 10 metres.

In Orenburg, a Russian city with a population of 550,000 about 1,200 km (750 miles) east of Moscow, hundreds of homes were flooded. Authorities said at least 7,700 people were evacuated as the Ural river rose swiftly beyond the critical level of 9.3 metres.

Residents in Orenburg said it was the worst flooding in living memory while Russian officials described it as the worst flooding in the area since record began.

In Kurgan, a Russian region which straddles the Tobol river, 4,500 people were evacuated and fears grew that thousands – or even tens of thousands – more would need to evacuated.

The flood situation was acute in parts of Russia’s Western Siberia region, the largest hydrocarbon basin in the world, where the peak is expected in three to five days, and some areas around the Volga, Europe’s largest river.

KAZAKHSTAN SUFFERING

Russia said 10,500 houses were flooded across 37 regions, most in the Orenburg region. Upstream on the Ural, which flows into Kazakhstan, floodwaters earlier burst through an embankment dam in the Russian city of Orsk.

In Kazakhstan officials said 96,000 people had been evacuated. People worked through the night to build up dykes and strengthen embankments.

A state of emergency remained in effect in 8 of the country’s 17 provinces, down from 10 at the end of last week, but dangers remained.

Tensions have emerged with Moscow officials suggesting that Kazakhstan was to blame for not coordinating the discharge of water more effectively.

President Vladimir Putin spoke to Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev as both nations struggled to cope with the massive flooding.

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