A dam collapsed in the Russian city of Orsk in the Ural Mountains on Friday, and the evacuation process is still underway, according to local emergency services.
The state news agency TASS quoted the Emergencies Ministry as saying that about 4,000 homes with a population of 10,000 people in a suburb of Orsk, which has a total population of about 230,000 people, may be flooded as a result of the dam failure.
Local emergency services said in a statement that they were working to evacuate residents and reinforce the dam in the city of Orsk, located about 1,800 kilometers east of Moscow, near the border with Kazakhstan. Russian media reported that local authorities had established six evacuation points for residents.
Unverified photos circulating on messaging app Telegram appear to show water flowing through a gap in the dam.
A dam collapsed in the Russian city of Orsk due to floods
The Russian authorities continue to evacuate residents. According to forecasts, at least 20 settlements and about 4 thousand people in the Orenburg region may be affected. pic.twitter.com/UNPBSyrpbn
– Nexta (@nexta_tv) April 5, 2024
The disaster comes at a time when Russia is facing a wave of bad weather. A state of emergency has been declared in the Orenburg region, the Emergencies Ministry said, adding that assistance had been provided to 3,500 people affected by floods across the country in recent days.
The region, which includes Orsk, as well as other Ural provinces and neighboring parts of Kazakhstan, was hit by floods.
