Russia orders mass evacuation in flooded city of Orenburg

Australian Broadcasting ^ | 4/12/2024 | Staff

[marcusmaximus]

Tens of thousands of residents in the Russian city of Orenburg and neighbouring Kazakhstan have been told to evacuate immediately as flood waters inundate homes.

-snip-

Orenburg is home to half a million people, and the city's mayor Sergei Salmin said the situation was extremely dangerous.

"Over the last 10 hours, the water level in the Ural River has risen by 40cm … these levels are dangerous," he wrote on the Telegram messenger app.

He called on residents to gather essential items and to abandon their homes.

Emergency workers said water levels in the Ural River were more than two metres above what is regarded as a dangerous level.

Images show water almost reaching roofs of houses, as some residents and their pets took shelter on top of their homes.

One Orenburg resident named Vyacheslav told Reuters news agency the damage would be "colossal".

"Judging by the water levels, all the furniture, some household appliances and interior decorating materials are ruined," he said.

[rxh4n1]

We know you hate the Russians. You like posting stuff like this. It’s creepy. Like you’re gloating.