Russia's Urals Hit By Record Floods, Forcing Thousands To Evacuate

The rising flood waters in two cities in Russia's Ural mountains were being observed on Sunday after a dam was broke by Europe's third-longest river. This has resulted in major flooding of at least 10,000 homes and executing the evacuation of thousands of people along with their pets and a few belongings.

Why Russia Is Flooding?

A string of Russian regions in the Ural Mountains and Siberia, alongside parts of neighboring Kazakhstan, have experienced some of the worst floods in decades in recent days.

The Ural River, which originates in the Ural Mountains and flows into the Caspian Sea, experienced a significant rise in water levels on Friday due to meltwater, causing it to breach a dam embankment in the city of Orsk, located 1,800 km (1,100 miles) east of Moscow, as reported by Reuters.

The mayor of Orsk, Vasily Kozupitsa, was quoted by Russian news agencies as indicating that a second river in the town, the Yelshanka, had also breached its banks. Measures were being undertaken to evacuate residents from affected areas.

According to local authorities, more than 6,100 people have already been evacuated from the city of 230,000. Fifteen out of 40 schools in the area had been flooded. Footage released by the Emergencies Ministry depicted people navigating through neck-high waters, rescuing stranded dogs, and traveling along flooded roads in boats and canoes.

State news agency TASS reported that six adults and three children had been hospitalized in Orsk, but their condition was not life-threatening. Agencies reported that the Samara River in the town of Buzuluk, further west in the Orenburg region, was also experiencing rapid rises in water levels, with measures being implemented to ensure the safety of residents, as reported by Reuters.

Advisory Issued After Russia Floods

President Vladimir Putin ordered Emergencies Minister Alexander Kurenkov to travel to the affected region. The Kremlin announced on Sunday that flooding was now also inevitable in the Urals region of Kurgan and the Siberian region of Tyumen. Putin had communicated with the governors of these regions via telephone, according to the Kremlin.

In Kurgan city, which has a population of 310,000, authorities directed residents of one riverside neighborhood to evacuate urgently, stating that floodwaters would soon reach the city.

The governor of the Orenburg region, Denis Pasler, stated that these floods were the most severe in the region's recorded history. He indicated that flooding had been observed along the entire course of the 2,400-km (1,500-mile) Ural River, which flows through the Orenburg region and then into Kazakhstan before reaching the Caspian Sea, as reported by Reuters.

Russian media cited authorities from the Orenburg region as estimating the local flood damage at around 21 billion roubles ($227 million), noting that floodwaters would subside only after April 20. In Kazakhstan, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev remarked on Saturday that these floods represented the largest natural disaster in terms of scale and impact for his country in 80 years.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un expressed sympathy to Putin regarding the flood, as reported by state media KCNA, underscoring stronger ties between Moscow and Pyongyang after the leaders met last year. "Our people will always stand with the Russian people," Kim said.

Flood warnings were issued in other Russian regions, and Emergencies Minister Kurenkov warned that the situation could rapidly deteriorate. "The water is coming, and its level will only rise in the coming days," stated Sergei Salmin, the mayor of Orenburg, a city with at least 550,000 residents. "The flood situation remains critical."

Emergencies Minister Kurenkov emphasized the need for bottled water and mobile treatment plants, while local health officials reported conducting vaccinations against Hepatitis A in flooded areas. Local officials mentioned that the dam in Orsk was constructed for a water level of 5.5 meters (18 feet), yet the Ural River rose to 9.6 meters (31.5 feet), as reported by Reuters.

Federal investigators launched a criminal case for negligence and violation of safety rules related to the construction of the dam in 2010, which prosecutors stated had not been adequately maintained. The Orsk oil refinery suspended operations on Sunday due to the flooding. Last year, the Orsk Refinery processed 4.5 million tons of oil.