News Feed

Flooding in Russia's Orenburg, Kurgan oblasts causes widespread destruction, mass evacuations

1 min read
Flooding in Russia's Orenburg, Kurgan oblasts causes widespread destruction, mass evacuations
An aerial picture taken on April 8, 2024, shows the flooded part of the city of Orsk in Russia's Orenburg Oblast, southeast of the southern tip of the Ural Mountains. (Anatoliy Zhdanov / Russia OUT via Getty Images)

Flooding continues to impact Russia's Orenburg and Kurgan oblasts located on the border with Kazakhstan, causing destruction in the city of Orenburg, Russian media reported on April 13.

The impact of the floodwaters has prompted the evacuation of at least 120,000 people in the two oblasts and in a neighboring region of northern Kazakhstan.

Melting snow and torrential rain have caused swelling water levels in the Ural River, leading to the collapse of a dam in the city of Orsk on April 5.

At least 3,000 homes in the city of Orenburg have been flooded, and Russian authorities have called for the mass evacuation of residents of parts of the city, which has a population of more than half a million.

Emergency workers said the water levels in the Ural River were two meters (6.5 feet) higher than what is considered dangerous.

The Russian state-controlled news agency RIA Novosti reported on April 7 that the Orsk oil refinery had suspended its operations as a result of the flooding.

News Feed

In a Russian attack on the city of Zaporizhzhia on the morning of March 21, a father and mother of two girls were killed, and 6 people injured, including two girls aged 11 and 15, Fedorov said. The girls are daughters of the parents killed in the strike, Ukraine's State Emergency Service later said.

Russian citizens Yurii Korzhavin and Lidiya Korzhavina were removed from the U.S. sanctions list on March 20, along with other individuals and entities linked to Russia. The Korzhavins were sanctioned in 2024 for their ties to the Russian transport and logistics company Elfor TL.

Show More