Over 4,000 individuals have been evacuated from flood-stricken areas following the collapse of a dam on Friday in Russia's Orenburg region, according to regional authorities on Saturday.
The incident occurred amidst the spring thaw.
The regional governor's media office, via Telegram, announced that 4,208 people, including 1,019 children, have been evacuated.
Authorities reported that water inundated slightly over 2,500 homes in this border area with Kazakhstan.
In a separate update, Governor Denis Pasler stated that evacuated individuals would be relocated to temporary accommodation centers, with additional financial assistance being provided.
These significant floods follow the collapse of a dam on Friday in Orsk City, situated on the border with neighboring Kazakhstan, as clarified by the prosecutor's office overseeing the case.
A warning had been issued to Orsk City Council in March regarding violations of legislation related to the protection of populations and territories from natural emergencies and their causes.
The dam, originally designed to withstand the high level of the Ural River in the area at 5.5 meters, now stands at 9.6 meters, according to regional authorities.
Authorities also attributed the floods to snowmelt, which caused a rise in river waters in the area, including the Ural.
A video released by the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations depicting evacuation operations shows water entering homes and civilians being rescued by rescuers, their feet submerged in water.
Kazakhstan, bordering Russia, has also experienced floods due to snowmelt, prompting President Qasym-Jomart Toqayev to deliver a televised address.
He described the situation as a natural disaster, likely the largest in terms of size and consequences in the past eighty years.
He emphasized the need to avoid human losses and announced that local emergencies had been declared in ten regions of the country due to the floods.
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