Since the beginning of April, river flooding has been occurring in numerous regions of both countries. Among the most affected areas are the Kazakh region of Atyrau and the Russian city of Orsk. Astana rejects criticism for not having properly managed the evacuation of snow accumulations. There is controversy over the fact that the Russian civil defense did not take measures to mitigate the impact of the water.
Moscow () – The Ministry of Water Resources of Kazakhstan has responded to Russia's accusations, stating that the Kazakhs cannot influence in any way the floods that are flooding the cities of the south of the Ural region, since the Water from the Tobol River that flows into its territory comes from Russia, and decisions about the discharge of this water must be made from these sources.
The Ministry's statement reads that “since April 2, the Kazakh side has been regularly informing the Russians about decisions regarding this part of the river, and it is not correct to attribute responsibility to Kazakhstan that does not correspond to the reality”. The two countries exchange information on this matter 24 hours a day, and “there can be no question of unagreed initiatives.” It was Russia's representative in the Ural federal district, Vladimir Jakušev, who had pointed the finger at Kazakhstan, stating that the discharge of snow accumulations, which are very abundant during the winter, should be agreed more precisely.
In many regions of Kazakhstan, as in Russia, the level of all rivers has been rising since the beginning of April, hence the continuous flooding. A state of emergency has been declared in ten regions; In Atyrau, the worst affected by the floods, tens of thousands of people have been evacuated. President Kasym-Žomart Tokaev described the massive floods as truly “natural catastrophes” unmatched by similar events that have occurred in the country for many years. In Russia, floods have been recorded in 39 regions, in the territories of the Siberian, Oltrevolga and Central Russian districts, with emergency zones and calls from local administrations to evacuate homes.
The worst affected city in Russia was Orsk, on the banks of the Ural River, with more than 10,000 houses completely under the flooding of the Elšanka tributary, and the local hospital was also flooded. In the Orenburg region a dam broke, flooding more than 4 thousand houses, with several victims, and it is feared that the phenomenon could worsen even more in the coming days. Residents of the area have sharply criticized the Minister of Civil Defence, who allegedly only organized “demonstration” rescue teams under the direction of the designated commissioner for the emergency, Vladimir Putin's former security chief, Aleksandr Kurenkov.
According to statements from residents of towns and villages in the Orenburg region, the rescuers are limited to taking photos and videos for “effects reports” that will be broadcast on television. One of them said: “I haven't slept for 7 days and they don't do anything, they just sit at their posts eating donuts, move!” According to several media outlets, civil defense already had information about the flooding that was going to occur for more than a month, but no measures were taken to reduce the possible negative consequences. In Orsk, one of the most effective relief points turned out to be the local Seventh-day Adventist community, which was able to distribute water, food and clothing to all inhabitants, given the thousands of flooded houses and the more than 2,000 evacuees, including almost 700 children.
