At least 13,000 people have been evacuated in parts of Russia as of Thursday, as multiple regions continue to battle extreme floods amid rising water levels, local authorities said.
In some of the worst flooding in decades due to a continuous rise in daily average temperatures, snowmelt and rivers thawing, Russia’s western Siberia, the Volga region and the Central Federal District have been flooded.
A state of emergency has been declared in the Orenburg, Kurgan and Tyumen regions, Xinhua news agency reported.
In the worst-hit western Orenburg region, 7,800 people have been evacuated, according to the regional government, with water levels in the Ural river around the region breaking records last Thursday night.
The flooding is expected to peak in the region in the near future, the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations said.
In the Kurgan region, molre than 6,000 people have been evacuated, said regional governor Vadim Shumkov.
In the Tobol river near the region’s severely affected Zverinogolovsky district, water levels have surpassed 10 metre, over one metre above the critical level, and are expected to rise above 11 metre in the near future, local media reported.
In the Tyumen region, water in the Ishim and Tobol rivers rose by 56 cm and 22 cm in one day, local authorities said on Thursday, adding that the peak of the flood is expected by April 23 to 25.
