٠٠:٠٥:٤٣Residents of Orsk, Southern Urals, that were evacuated from flood-affected areas to temporary shelters shared their impressions of the natural catastrophe.
Footage shot on Saturday shows houses submerged in water almost reaching the roofs, railroads eroded by streams of water, as well as citizens settling in at temporary shelters.
Evacuee Valeria Yumash remarked that even though Orsk had seen floods before, 'there has never been such a flood here'.
"We were always safe from the water, so to speak. And then my daughter came and said: 'This is it, the dam is collapsing before our eyes', she says, she just arrived from there. Well, she brought the children, left the children with us," she recalled, "We all somehow didn’t think, didn’t expect [the flood]. They arrived with my son-in-law at one in the morning and said: 'That’s it, the dam has been breached, the water is coming, it’s already reached 15th street'.
Yumash's family attempted to wait out the natural disaster by moving to a relative's house, which was located higher than theirs.
"We thought we’d go there and wait at their place. The [flood] will pass , the water won’t rise to a higher elevation. We arrived at my aunt’s, and in a little while, at four o’clock in the morning the police came, and they said: 'The flood is coming, get ready, let’s evacuate'," she said
The woman said she was treated well at the shelter, and the conditions were satisfactory.
"The girls here are so nice! The girls are so friendly. There’s a psychologist here, and a doctor, and everything. Everyone treated us well, everyone is friendly. They gave us food at four o’clock in the morning and sent us to bed, as they say," said Yumash.
The press office of the Orsk administration reported a breach of the protective dam in the Old Town area late on Friday, triggering widespread flooding. The scale of the disaster is staggering, with more than 4,000 houses and 10,000 people affected by the floodwaters.
In response to the crisis, authorities mobilised rescue efforts, with representatives of the Sovetsky district administration and 50 rescuers equipped with floating devices rushing to the scene. A state of municipal emergency was declared as the city grappled with the unfolding disaster.
On Saturday, Orsk mayor Vasily Kozupitsa said another section of the dam near Borisoglebsky Street in the Nickel settlement had been breached, resulting in 'water rushing into the city', and urged residents to leave their homes as soon as possible.
According to the Orenburg region governorship, at least 4,400 residential houses remain flooded at the time of publication.
More than two thousand people have been evacuated, 320 of them, including 85 children, have been placed in temporary shelters.
The head of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations (EMERCOM) Alexander Kurenkov arrived in the Orenburg region on the instructions of Russian President Vladimir Putin to personally monitor the situation in the areas affected by the floods. More than 700 specialists from different regions, 160 units of equipment and 70 boats are working on the site.
The Russian Investigative Committee informed it has launched a criminal probe under part one of Article 216 ('Violation of safety rules during construction work') and part one of Article 293 ('Negligence') of the Russian Criminal Code.
'Collapsing before our eyes' - Russia's Southern Urals residents recollect moment of dam breach resulted in massive flood
Residents of Orsk, Southern Urals, that were evacuated from flood-affected areas to temporary shelters shared their impressions of the natural catastrophe.
Footage shot on Saturday shows houses submerged in water almost reaching the roofs, railroads eroded by streams of water, as well as citizens settling in at temporary shelters.
Evacuee Valeria Yumash remarked that even though Orsk had seen floods before, 'there has never been such a flood here'.
"We were always safe from the water, so to speak. And then my daughter came and said: 'This is it, the dam is collapsing before our eyes', she says, she just arrived from there. Well, she brought the children, left the children with us," she recalled, "We all somehow didn’t think, didn’t expect [the flood]. They arrived with my son-in-law at one in the morning and said: 'That’s it, the dam has been breached, the water is coming, it’s already reached 15th street'.
Yumash's family attempted to wait out the natural disaster by moving to a relative's house, which was located higher than theirs.
"We thought we’d go there and wait at their place. The [flood] will pass , the water won’t rise to a higher elevation. We arrived at my aunt’s, and in a little while, at four o’clock in the morning the police came, and they said: 'The flood is coming, get ready, let’s evacuate'," she said
The woman said she was treated well at the shelter, and the conditions were satisfactory.
"The girls here are so nice! The girls are so friendly. There’s a psychologist here, and a doctor, and everything. Everyone treated us well, everyone is friendly. They gave us food at four o’clock in the morning and sent us to bed, as they say," said Yumash.
The press office of the Orsk administration reported a breach of the protective dam in the Old Town area late on Friday, triggering widespread flooding. The scale of the disaster is staggering, with more than 4,000 houses and 10,000 people affected by the floodwaters.
In response to the crisis, authorities mobilised rescue efforts, with representatives of the Sovetsky district administration and 50 rescuers equipped with floating devices rushing to the scene. A state of municipal emergency was declared as the city grappled with the unfolding disaster.
On Saturday, Orsk mayor Vasily Kozupitsa said another section of the dam near Borisoglebsky Street in the Nickel settlement had been breached, resulting in 'water rushing into the city', and urged residents to leave their homes as soon as possible.
According to the Orenburg region governorship, at least 4,400 residential houses remain flooded at the time of publication.
More than two thousand people have been evacuated, 320 of them, including 85 children, have been placed in temporary shelters.
The head of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations (EMERCOM) Alexander Kurenkov arrived in the Orenburg region on the instructions of Russian President Vladimir Putin to personally monitor the situation in the areas affected by the floods. More than 700 specialists from different regions, 160 units of equipment and 70 boats are working on the site.
The Russian Investigative Committee informed it has launched a criminal probe under part one of Article 216 ('Violation of safety rules during construction work') and part one of Article 293 ('Negligence') of the Russian Criminal Code.
Residents of Orsk, Southern Urals, that were evacuated from flood-affected areas to temporary shelters shared their impressions of the natural catastrophe.
Footage shot on Saturday shows houses submerged in water almost reaching the roofs, railroads eroded by streams of water, as well as citizens settling in at temporary shelters.
Evacuee Valeria Yumash remarked that even though Orsk had seen floods before, 'there has never been such a flood here'.
"We were always safe from the water, so to speak. And then my daughter came and said: 'This is it, the dam is collapsing before our eyes', she says, she just arrived from there. Well, she brought the children, left the children with us," she recalled, "We all somehow didn’t think, didn’t expect [the flood]. They arrived with my son-in-law at one in the morning and said: 'That’s it, the dam has been breached, the water is coming, it’s already reached 15th street'.
Yumash's family attempted to wait out the natural disaster by moving to a relative's house, which was located higher than theirs.
"We thought we’d go there and wait at their place. The [flood] will pass , the water won’t rise to a higher elevation. We arrived at my aunt’s, and in a little while, at four o’clock in the morning the police came, and they said: 'The flood is coming, get ready, let’s evacuate'," she said
The woman said she was treated well at the shelter, and the conditions were satisfactory.
"The girls here are so nice! The girls are so friendly. There’s a psychologist here, and a doctor, and everything. Everyone treated us well, everyone is friendly. They gave us food at four o’clock in the morning and sent us to bed, as they say," said Yumash.
The press office of the Orsk administration reported a breach of the protective dam in the Old Town area late on Friday, triggering widespread flooding. The scale of the disaster is staggering, with more than 4,000 houses and 10,000 people affected by the floodwaters.
In response to the crisis, authorities mobilised rescue efforts, with representatives of the Sovetsky district administration and 50 rescuers equipped with floating devices rushing to the scene. A state of municipal emergency was declared as the city grappled with the unfolding disaster.
On Saturday, Orsk mayor Vasily Kozupitsa said another section of the dam near Borisoglebsky Street in the Nickel settlement had been breached, resulting in 'water rushing into the city', and urged residents to leave their homes as soon as possible.
According to the Orenburg region governorship, at least 4,400 residential houses remain flooded at the time of publication.
More than two thousand people have been evacuated, 320 of them, including 85 children, have been placed in temporary shelters.
The head of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations (EMERCOM) Alexander Kurenkov arrived in the Orenburg region on the instructions of Russian President Vladimir Putin to personally monitor the situation in the areas affected by the floods. More than 700 specialists from different regions, 160 units of equipment and 70 boats are working on the site.
The Russian Investigative Committee informed it has launched a criminal probe under part one of Article 216 ('Violation of safety rules during construction work') and part one of Article 293 ('Negligence') of the Russian Criminal Code.