The border regions between the two countries are hit by massive melting snow and heavy rains that caused the worst flooding in at least 75 years. Russia and its neighbor Kazakhstan have evacuated around 100,000 people since last Friday, April 5, the storm caused a dam to break and devastated dozens of settlements. The water level in the Russian Ural and Tobol rivers, which also cross Kazakh territory, forced the authorities this Tuesday, April 9, to issue new evacuation orders for the Russian city of Orsk, south of the Urals, one of the most affected.
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A sudden massive thaw and torrential rains continue to cause major flooding and force thousands of people to flee their homes in the border regions between Russia and Kazakhstan.
This Tuesday, April 9, the authorities ordered the evacuation of various neighborhoods of Orsk, the second largest city in the Orenburg region, in Russia, south of the Ural Mountains, after a new rise in the water level in the river Ural.
The new measures come after last Friday, April 5, the growth of the Ural River, the third longest in Europe, which originates in Russia, and also flows through Kazakhstan towards the Caspian, caused a dam to break. A situation that triggered the worst floods in 80 years and led the Orenburg authorities to declare a state of emergency.
More than 10,000 homes were flooded, most in the town of Orska city of almost 200,000 inhabitants.
But the effects of the storm and the deluge of melt water extend along the border regions between Russia and Kazakhstan, Both countries They report the evacuation of at least 100,000 people so far.
The phenomenon has devastated dozens of settlements in the Ural Mountains, Siberia and areas of Kazakhstan near the Ural and Tobol rivers, which, according to local officials, had risen several meters in a matter of hours to reach the highest levels ever recorded.
While thousands of homes and streets continue to be flooded, authorities warn that the worst peak of flooding could arrive on Wednesday, April 10.
“According to experts, the water level will continue to rise today and tomorrow, reaching its peak on (Wednesday) April 10. The residents of Orenburg who are in the affected areas must leave their homes,” emphasizes a statement released by the Mayor's Office. local.
The emergency was also declared on Monday, April 8, in Kurgan, a city on the banks of the Tobol River, where this Tuesday the Russian Government urged an immediate evacuation, after dozens of people ignored previous calls to leave the town.
“Difficult days are still ahead for the Kurgan and Tyumen regions (…) A lot of water is coming,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the press.
Moscow highlights that in the face of the emergency, Russian President Vladimir Putin has been in contact with President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, of Kazakhstan, where more than 86,000 people have been evacuated due to flooding.
They protest against the “inaction” of the authorities
The demonstrations took place in the city of Orsk, one of the hardest hit after the dam collapse.
Hundreds of people who received the evacuation order gathered this Tuesday in front of the city's City Hall building to ask for help for the loss of their homes, while denouncing what they described as “inaction” on the part of the authorities.
“Putin, help!” or “shame!”, shouted those gathered, according to the 'Ural56' portal, cited by EFE.
Those affected ask for financial compensation. The governor of the Orenburg region, Denis Pasler, promised to pay compensation of 10,000 rubles a month, around 100 euros, for six months to people who have been forced to abandon their homes due to flooding.
Meanwhile, Putin ordered the Government to create a special commission to address the situation in the affected regions.
With Reuters and EFE
