Major floods in Russia and Kazakhstan: evacuations continue

Evacuations continue on Saturday in Russian regions of the Urals affected by major floods, which are also sweeping neighboring Kazakhstan where more than 100,000 people were affected. evacuated, with no respite in sight as the water level continues to rise. to go up.

These floods are caused by heavy rains associated with rising temperatures, increased snowmelt and the breakup of winter ice covering rivers.

In Orenburg, one of the worst-hit cities in the Russian region of the same name bordering Kazakhstan, waters from the Ural River partially submerged some roads and flowed into residential areas, transforming neighborhoods into ponds.

On Saturday afternoon, the river level was close to 12 meters, according to local authorities. This is well above the threshold considered critical, and it represents a further increase of around half a meter compared to the day before. The Urals flow through the center of Orenburg.

“To date, the situation remains complicated. Currently in Orenburg, the flooding is at its maximum level,” said declared regional governor Denis Pasler on Saturday evening.

Nearly 14,000 people have already been evacuated from Orenburg and its surroundings and more than 11,000 homes are flooded, according to the Ministry of Emergency situations.

Rescuers and law enforcement continued to help residents leave their homes on Saturday.

Floods in the Russian city of Orenburg on April 13, 2024 © AFP – Olga MALTSEVA

“The most important thing is that (the house) is not looted. That's what worries me. Other than that, everything is fine! We will survive!”, assured, optimistically , Valéri, sixty-year-old just evacuated.

Eldar Rakhmetov, an official at the Ministry of Emergency Situations, said he had noticed “an increase in the number of flooded houses since this morning, and more evacuations are being organized.”

– “Traitorous Water” –

Improvised means of transport in the flooded city of Orenburg, Russia, April 13, 2024 © AFP – Olga MALTSEVA

Further east, the Kurgan region is also likely to be flooded in the coming days. The level of the Tobol River continues to rise rapidly and more than 6,000 people have already been evacuated, according to the Ministry of Emergency Situations.

Governor Vadim Shumkov, called on residents of the affected areas to leave their homes “preventatively”, without waiting for the water to rise even further.

“The water is treacherous, and with such a mass, its increase is unpredictable,” he warned on Telegram.

“My compatriots from Kurgan, you must evacuate urgently!” , he posted afterwards.

Floods in the Russian city of Orenburg on April 13, 2024 © AFP – Andrey BORODULIN

Citing the authorities' forecasts, he assured that a “sharp rise” in the water level was expected in the coming days, suggesting a “difficult situation”.

In Kazakhstan, which shares some 7,500 kilometers of border with Russia, the water reached the suburbs of the city of Petropavlosvk, capital of the North Kazakhstan region (220,000 inhabitants), in part deprived of electricity and drinking water.

In total, in this immense Central Asian country, more than 102,000 people have been evacuated, including a third of them children, with nearly 4,000 homes already flooded and 73 localities cut off from the world, according to the Ministry of Emergency Situations.

Floods in the Russian city of Orenburg on April 13, 2024 © AFP – Andrey BORODULIN

While the degree of influence of climate change remains to be determined, it is already established by scientists that global warming favors extreme weather events such as heavy precipitation causing flooding.

Demonstrations, rare in Russia as the repression is strong, broke out on Monday in Orsk, in the Orenburg region, with residents protesting against the management of the crisis by local authorities.

Despite these protests and the seriousness of the situation, no travel by President Vladimir Putin has yet been announced to these areas.

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