Floods in Russia: Urals reach new high

In the flood area around the southern Russian city of Orenburg, the water level of the Ural has risen to a record high. However, officials hope that this means the river has reached its peak.

In the city of Orenburg, which was hit hard by flooding, the water level of the Ural River rose another nine centimeters overnight to a historic high. “Early this morning the Urals near Orenburg reached the mark of 11.71 meters,” said Governor Denis Pasler on his Telegram channel.

According to authorities, a further 800 houses and 1,800 garden plots have been flooded since Friday morning. In total, more than 300 houses in the city are under water.

According to Pasler, the situation currently remains tense, but it has recently stabilized. The water level has not risen in the past few hours. “We expect that this is the plateau: there will be no further increase, the situation will stabilize and then the decline will begin,” he wrote.

Worst Floods for decades

According to authorities, more than 14,000 residents have already been brought to safety, and helpers also rescued more people from their flooded houses on Saturday. The snowy winter has led to one of the worst floods in decades in the Orenburg region, 1,200 kilometers southeast of Moscow.

Before the regional capital, the large city of Orsk was hit, where large parts of the old town were flooded by the Urals after a dam burst. The more than 2,400-kilometer-long river, which geographers define as part of the border between Europe and Asia, flows south through Kazakhstan into the Caspian Sea. There is also a flood alarm in the neighboring country. Around 100,000 people have been evacuated there.

According to authorities, the Kurgan region, northeast of Orenburg, is also at risk of flooding in the coming days. Regional Governor Vadim Chumkov called on residents of particularly threatened areas to seek safety as a precaution. “Water is treacherous, and with such masses the rise is unpredictable,” warned Chumkov.