The Ministry of Emergency Situations called the current flood levels in the Urals and Volga region record-breaking.

Deputy Head of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia Viktor Yatsutsenko said during an expanded meeting of State Duma committees that the current flood levels in the Urals and Volga region are being recorded for the first time in history, reports TASS.

In Orenburg, Orsk and other settlements of the Orenburg region, partial evacuation has been announced due to flooding. In Orsk, after a dam broke, the Old Town, part of the New Town and some villages included in the settlement were flooded. 786 people were evacuated from the flood zone in Orenburg.

Today, April 8, water gradually began to recede from Orsk. From the evening of April 7 to this morning, the level of the Ural River in the city fell by 9 cm, to 963 cm. At the same time, the water is rising in Orenburg. In the capital of the region, the increase in one day was 16 cm, up to 872 cm. In Orsk, residents of the village of Lesotorgovy, located within the city, are being preventively evacuated. Evacuation also started in Orenburg Novotroitsk after water overflowed over a protective dam.

This morning Russian President Vladimir Putin heard reports from the head of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, governors of the Orenburg, Kurgan and Tyumen regions on the flood situation and measures taken. The head of state instructed the government to create a special commission headed by the Minister of Emergency Situations Alexander Kurenkov.

Read more about the flood in the Kommersant article. “Waiting for Water”.

Erdni Kagaltynov