Water continues to arrive in Orsk. At the moment, about 600 houses on nine streets are flooded. Earlier, the Orsk mayor’s office reported that a dam that protected the city from the Ural River had broken. There is a massive evacuation of people from the Old City, where several villages are located that fell into the flood zone. Temporary accommodation centers have been prepared for those evacuated from the flooded area. The mayor’s office clarified that the protective dam in the area of Orenburgskaya Street broke through. 4,258 houses and 10,987 people fall into the flood zone. The city has prepared temporary accommodation centers for 6.5 thousand places, housing 235 people, including 73 children.
As Mayor Vasily Kozupitsa clarified, the dam was damaged in two places. According to the prosecutor’s office, the emergency occurred due to untimely measures taken to maintain the hydraulic structure; Gostekhnadzor had previously identified violations. The Investigative Committee opened a criminal case under the articles “Violation of safety rules during construction work” and “Negligence”.
As the head of Orsk Vasily Kozupitsa clarified, partial damage to the dam body occurred in two places. Flooded power grid facilities in Orsk have been turned off, and power supply to a number of areas has been suspended. 531 people are working on site, including 216 rescuers from the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations, 125 pieces of equipment and 75 watercraft. The mayor of Orenburg, Sergei Salmin, demanded that residents of flooded areas evacuate voluntarily, otherwise they will be taken out with the participation of the police, he wrote about this in the Telegram channel. According to the head of the city, as of 15:00 (13:00 Moscow time), the water level in the Ural River reached 855 centimeters.
“This situation leaves us no choice; at night the level may reach a critical level. I demand that everyone immediately leave their houses in the flood zone. We no longer have time for persuasion. Those who refuse to leave the danger zone voluntarily will be evacuated forcibly, with participation of police officers,” Salmin said. In particular, he addressed residents of the Forshtadt districts, the villages of Kuznechny, Sitsovka, Pristantsionny, Zarechny, Podmayachny, Solnechny, Ovchinny town and the village named after Kuibyshev.
Residents of the flooded areas of Orsk are transported out in a KamAZ truck and a Troika 2000 dump truck. The water has already reached Vokzalnoye Highway. Residents are quickly transported from flooded areas using a KamAZ truck and a Troika 2000 dump truck. “According to the latest data, 1,121 people were evacuated in Orsk, including 331 children. There are 283 people in temporary accommodation centers, of which 77 are children. 2,450 houses and 3,185 adjacent areas remain flooded, the statement says. In addition, the city mayor’s office warned of the threat of flooding in the villages of Stroitel and Rabochiy, as well as Borisoglebsky and Dokuchaev streets in the village of Nikel.
6 medical institutions in Orsk fell into the flood zone, 88 patients were transferred to other hospitals in the city, Assistant Minister of Health of Russia Alexey Kuznetsov told RIA Novosti. “Six health care institutions fell into the flood zone, 88 patients, including one child, were transferred to other hospitals in the city,” Kuznetsov said. He clarified that the remaining medical institutions are operating normally and have the necessary bed capacity and everything necessary to provide medical care to citizens.
“To date, no requests for medical assistance have been recorded at temporary accommodation centers,” Kuznetsov said. He added that medical duty has been organized at temporary accommodation centers in Orsk. The work of the medical service is coordinated by the Federal Center for Disaster Medicine of the Russian Ministry of Health.
Twelve vehicles and 50 rescuers headed from the Kirov region to the Orenburg region to help eliminate the consequences of the flooding, the press service of the regional government reports. Earlier, the head of the region, Alexander Sokolov, announced that the Kirov region would help the Orenburg region, where due to a sharp rise in water levels in the Ural River, part of the territories were flooded.
It is noted that Kirov rescuers are ready to organize all the assistance needed in the affected area. Rescuers will deliver special equipment and machinery to the flood zone to eliminate the consequences of the flood. In addition, a humanitarian aid collection point will open at the Kirov Regional Fire and Rescue Service, where caring Kirov residents will be able to bring everything they need for the affected residents of the Orenburg region.