Flood in Russia city of Orenburg have caused water levels to rise two meters above critical flood levels, leaving only the roofs of some houses visible.
The city’s mayor has urged many residents to evacuate as sirens continue to sound.
Orenburg is expected to reach its peak water levels on Friday, with floods projected to spread through neighboring regions in the coming days and weeks.
Kazakhstan has also faced severe impact, with authorities evacuating 100,000 people from their homes within the past week.
This flooding is being described as the worst to hit the region in 80 years.
Last week, several rivers, including Europe‘s third-largest river, the Ural, overflowed. Many of these rivers flow back and forth between Russia and Kazakhstan.
Unusually high seasonal temperatures have led to rapid melting of snow and ice, coupled with heavy rainfall.
In Orenburg, the Ural river reached 11.43 meters (37 feet) on Friday. Authorities have reported evacuating over 10,000 people and flooding 11,700 homes.
Mayor Sergei Salmin has issued urgent calls for further mass evacuations in some districts.
“Evacuate immediately. The situation is critical, do not delay!” he stated on his Telegram channel, clarifying that the sirens heard in the city were not part of an exercise.
Orenburg, with a population of half a million, is located about 1,500 km (930 miles) southeast of Moscow.
Due to this Russia flood , Water levels have receded in Orsk, located further east and upstream of Orenburg. Orsk faced significant damage last weekend after a dam burst, sparking rare public protests due to low compensation offers and perceived failures by local authorities to prevent the dam collapse.
From Orenburg, the Ural river flows through northwest Kazakhstan and into the Caspian Sea.
The Ishim and Tobol rivers are also reaching dangerous levels, expected to peak around April 23-24.
Floodwaters pose a threat to a large area of northern Kazakhstan, with many dams and reservoirs reaching maximum capacity.
In Petropavl, along the Ishim river in the North Kazakhstan region, a local reservoir is at risk of overflowing, potentially flooding a major road connecting two Russian cities, Chelyabinsk and Novosibirsk.
