Russia announced Saturday that more than 4,000 people have been evacuated from the Orenburg region, near Kazakhstan’s border, owing to water caused by a dam burst.
After a dam burst in the city of Orsk, near Kazakhstan’s border, emergency personnel worked all night.
According to the Orenburg governor’s press department, “4,208 people, including 1,019 children” were evacuated and more than 2,500 dwellings were flooded after a dam burst on Friday due to excessive rain.
Russia has filed a criminal inquiry for “negligence and violation of construction safety rules” in connection with the dam’s burst in 2014.
Authorities reported a challenging situation throughout the region, including a dangerous water level on the Ural River in the main city of Orenburg.
Governor Denis Pasler stated that the flood had reached its “peak” and that the situation was particularly difficult in Orsk.
Russian emergency services released footage of rescue workers traveling through villages on boats and hovercraft.
Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Kazakhstan’s president, described the floods as one of the country’s biggest natural disasters in 80 years.
He urged officials in the Central Asian country to be prepared to assist anybody affected.
Floods hit several locations in the Urals and western Siberia early this spring.