Floods in southern Russia on Sunday threatened to inundate thousands more homes in the Kurgan region, where the governor predicted a “very difficult situation” in the coming hours.
Russia’s Ural regions and neighboring Kazakhstan are experiencing widespread flooding caused by melting ice and swelling rivers, exacerbated by heavy rains.
In some places, only the roofs of houses can be seen above the murky water that has flooded entire neighborhoods.
In Kazakhstan, more than 107,000 people were evacuated from their homes, state news agency TASS reported.
According to the Kazinform agency, flooding in the capital of the North Kazakhstan region, Petropavl, is expected to peak within the next 24 hours.
“Why has it come to this? Nobody has done anything for 60 years,” said Alexander Kuprakov, a resident of Petropavl, criticizing the government for making “no investments” in the area to prevent such a situation.
Elena Kurzayeva, a 67-year-old pensioner from Petropavl, told AFP: “I was taken out yesterday and within 15 minutes the water came in.”
Spring flooding is a regular occurrence, but this year it is much more severe than usual.
Scientists agree that climate change caused by the burning of fossil fuels increases the risk of extreme weather events such as floods.
Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said earlier this month that this was the country’s worst natural disaster in 80 years.
Floods have already inundated 34,000 homes in Russia’s southern Orenburg region due to the rising Ural River.
AFP journalists saw the evacuation of residents in boats and police vehicles in the regional capital Orenburg on Saturday.
In the Kurgan region further east, the situation is now getting worse.
There, the level of the Tobol River was rising rapidly and Governor Vadim Shumkov said: “A very complex situation with rising waters is forecast for tonight.”
Fresh rain exacerbated the situation, Shumkov said, and the Tobol rose 25 cm (10 inches) in two hours. But some refused to evacuate, he complained.
Russia’s Emergencies Ministry has predicted that more than 18,000 people could be flooded in the Kurgan region, state news agency RIA Novosti reported.
In a post on Telegram, Shumkov urged residents to “immediately leave the flooded areas” while there was still light and warned that as night falls, street lights may have to be turned off for safety reasons.
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