AFP | Orenburg, Russia The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com Russian emergency services yesterday said they had evacuated thousands of people from the Orenburg region in the south of the Urals as flood water continued to rise. Fast-rising temperatures have melted snow a
AFP | Orenburg, Russia
The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com
Russian emergency services yesterday said they had evacuated thousands of people from the Orenburg region in the south of the Urals as flood water continued to rise.
Fast-rising temperatures have melted snow and ice, and along with heavy rain have caused a number of major rivers that cross Russia and Kazakhstan to overflow this month.
In the city of Orenburg, one of the worst affected areas in Russia, the Ural River breached its banks, submerging streets and residential areas and water levels continued to rise Saturday.
On Saturday afternoon, the river level reached almost 12 metres (39 feet), more than 2.5 metres above the level considered critical.
The Ural River flows through the centre of Orenburg.
Flood water covered the embankment promenade and swirled around houses and an high-rise apartment blocks built close to the river, an AFP journalist saw.
Almost 14,000 people have been evacuated from Orenburg and the surrounding region, according to authorities.
