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Hundreds
evacuated as heavy floods sweep across Russia’s Siberia
RT,
31
May, 2014
Hundreds
of people have been evacuated and tens of thousands left without
power after heavy floods struck southern Siberia. A state of
emergency has been introduced in three regions.
Those
areas are the Altai region, Khakassia Republic, and Altai Republic,
said Russian Emergencies Minister Vladimir Puchkov, who added that a
“high alert” has been issued for two other regions - Tuva
Republic and Buryatia Republic.
Meanwhile,
Puchkov also noted that other regions are at risk from the flooding -
such as Sakha (Yakutia) Republic and the Amur region – due to the
fact that rivers in southern Siberia have responded quickly to the
heavy rains.
In
the Altai Republic alone, the flooding has already destroyed 230
kilometers of roads and 1.5 kilometers of a federal highway which
links Russia with Mongolia. Fifteen bridges were washed away.
Heavy
floods swallowed up nearly 1,000 houses in Altai Republic, where up
to 3,500 people - including 927 children - live. Hundreds are now
homeless and have been forced to seek shelter in temporary
accommodation centers.
Emergency
services have confirmed that one person has died and three are
missing.
Several
areas in the republic have been left without electricity after heavy
rain brought down 48 utility poles.
On
Saturday, the ministry launched a massive rescue operation in the
affected regions, evacuating hundreds of people. However, many
domestic animals didn’t survive, according to local officials.
A
local emergencies ministry estimates that nearly 4,000 houses have
been damaged or destroyed by water in the affected regions. Roughly
8,000 people have been forced to evacuate..
Humanitarian
aid has already been delivered to the affected regions, including 12
tons of food.
Here are some other photos of the flooding that have come throug twitter feeds
See also the Siberian Times.
Dramatic floods hit Siberia with fears of worse to come
And look at the temperature anomalies in the Pacific
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