“They don’t know where to turn”: Deputy Ostanina reached flooded Orsk

On Monday, State Duma deputy Nina Ostanina, on her own initiative, flew to the flooded village of Maly Kumachek near Orsk. In this village, due to floods, residents were left without electricity, gas and water. “For four days no one came to them,” the deputy noted. In the evening, a spontaneous rally began on the Central Square near the Orsk administration building.

By April 8, due to a dam break in Orsk, the Old Town, the villages of Nikel, Stroitel, and Lesotorgovy were flooded. In Orenburg itself, two microdistricts, three settlements and 17 gardening associations were also flooded. Since April 7, a federal emergency regime has been in effect in the Orenburg region. More than 10 thousand houses were flooded. On the evening of April 5 in Orsk, Orenburg region, a dam broke in two places at once. According to local residents, it had been leaking for several days. They are urgently trying to seal the dam, and people are being evacuated from the city. Several thousand buildings and households have already been flooded.

The first meeting of residents of the flooded areas with a State Duma deputy took place at a temporary accommodation center, school No. 17, where 68 people were accommodated, including 17 children.

“For four days, not a single employee of the city administration bothered to come to the residents of Orsk, information sheets were not posted anywhere – and this is the main thing,” Nina Ostanina, chairman of the committee for family protection, issues of paternity, motherhood and childhood, noted in an interview with MK. – It’s clear that the living conditions are quite satisfactory for the people, because the people who left in fear are housed in a warm place, they have a dry place, hot meals are provided, but there are a lot of questions regarding informing people. They don’t know where to turn, where the coordination headquarters works, what prospects they have, what the authorities are offering them, whether they will return to their homes, and if these houses are 100% flooded, whether they will receive payment for them.

I am, of course, pleasantly surprised that City Council Deputy Vitaly Omelchenko posted a post in his chat about “Did Deputy Ostanina fly to us?” Nevertheless, an hour after I arrived at the epicenter from the airport, all the residents gathered there.

For four days no one came to the village of Maly Kumachek. This is the same village where the head of the city came the night before the dam burst with the assurance “Sleep peacefully, nothing will happen.” And at night everything burst. After that, the head of the city no longer came to the residents and people were left alone with their problems. For four days there is no electricity, gas, water, no transport. Unfortunately, taxis refuse to go and their fares are doubled. The authorities canceled the only minibus No. 55. Those who wanted to go to work were unable to leave. The population of the village is at least four thousand people.

People in the private sector are worried to tears; they have cows and pigs left with nothing to feed and drink. To come to people, bring them water, organize light where power lines were not destroyed – this could have been done!

In the evening, at 18:00, a spontaneous rally began on Central Komsomolskaya Square near the Orsk city administration building. More than three thousand residents gathered for it. This happened despite the fact that on the eve of Monday the prosecutor’s office of the Orenburg region issued a warning in connection with calls for participation in mass actions due to a dam break in Orsk. For participation, citizens face administrative arrest, the department told MK.

The main problem here is not the natural disaster, but the inability of the city authorities to talk to people. This is the biggest problem. There are no communication channels.

– The head of the district of the village of Maly Kumachek, whom people cannot reach, is still at some headquarters. – laments MP Nina Ostanina, who is trying to get through to him so that the boss will appear before the people. The parliamentarian went to the head with the goal of dragging him out to the residents so that he would explain their prospects.

– Podvorovo would rewrite everyone, with all their problems. From what I know: a ninth-grader is worried with his mother about how he will pass his exams. His mother bought a computer on credit for 46,000 rubles. And their house was flooded. People do not have lines of information channels from the authorities. The only person people thank is the Ministry of Emergency Situations. At the very least they come and talk to people.

People are experiencing a difficult situation; cases of looting have begun in the cottages of the village of Maly Kumachek, which are not guarded by anyone. Residents organize lynching.