The floods in the Russian city of Orenburg became “critical” this Friday due to the rising level of the Ural River, which forced the authorities to carry out “mass evacuations”.
“The sirens are ringing in the city. This is not an exercise,” wrote the mayor of this town of half a million inhabitants, Sergei Salmin, on Telegram.
“A mass evacuation is underway,” he said. “The situation is critical, don’t waste time!” She urged, calling on residents to leave their homes immediately.
The level of the Ural River reached 11.43 meters, he noted, that is more than two meters above the threshold considered “critical” by the authorities.
The floods, which also affect neighboring Kazakhstan, are due to the heavy rain, combined with rapidly rising temperatureswhich melted the snow and ice covering rivers and streams.
More than 10,700 people have been evacuated from the Orenburg region, where some 11,700 houses are flooded, according to regional authorities.
Others have had to do the same in the Kurgan region, further east, and in the Tomsk region, where the fierce flow of the Tom River threatens several towns.
On the other hand, local officials said the situation was improving in Orsk, the second largest city in the Orenburg region. flooded after dam breakclaiming that the level of the Ural River, which runs through it, was falling.
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Demonstrations were held in Russia on Monday – something unusual in the country due to strong repression – to protest against the management of the crisis.