in the Urals, helpless residents watch the flood rise

Major flooding is underway in Russia along the Ural River. Residents denounce the lack of resources deployed by the public authorities.

The water is still rising on Tuesday, April 9, in Russia and Kazakhstan hit by major floods, particularly along the Ural River, and the peak is not expected until Wednesday. Russian authorities announced 6,500 evacuations and more than 10,550 flooded houses in Russian regions located in the Urals and Siberia. Franceinfo went to Orenburg, the capital of the Russian region most affected by these floods where residents are still watching the waters rise.

The owner of a flooded house has just returned. Verdict: “Ten centimeters more, water up to my chest,” he said. Dozens and dozens of houses are flooded by the waters of the Ural River, which is close to its historic high, assures the mayor of this industrial city of 500,000 inhabitants, Tuesday morning. In Orenburg, it is the dacha districts, small individual houses along the river, which are the most affected. Franceinfo took a trip there aboard a huge rescue truck capable of driving in two meters of water. For two days, he has been making rounds to take and bring back residents and their animals.

Throughout this region of the southern Urals it is the same thing. A little further east, in Orsk, it is even worse: the water reaches the roofs of the two-story houses. All this because of exceptional weather conditions this year. It rained a lot, but above all, the temperatures rose extremely quickly. “We went from a down jacket to a t-shirt in three days,” testifies a resident. The snow melted and the ice on the rivers gave way at breakneck speed. Hence these historic floods, the worst in 80 years in the region.

A phenomenon amplified by the rupture of dikes

At least three dikes have failed in the Orenburg region. Notably one, in the town of Orsk, whose rupture had the most significant consequences. Officially there were no victims. The four deaths initially announced were in reality linked to accidents or heart attacks, according to the authorities. But there is still a certain exasperation among some victims who point out the lack of resources and reactions from the public authorities, which earned them a scathing response from the Russian Minister of Emergency Situations.

“We had been warning of the flood for a week. Some did not take the alert seriously. It was up to them to evacuate”, said this former bodyguard of Vladimir Putin. On site, in fact, despite the presence of police officers or firefighters, residents say they mainly rely on volunteers or mutual help between neighbors to manage their problems.