The level of the Ural River, which already exceeded its record and the “critical” threshold, continued to rise on Friday in the city of Orenburg. The Ishim River is also increasing, authorities in the Tyumen region said.
In total, more than 100,000 people have been forced to flee their homes, mainly to Kazakhstan. These floods are caused by heavy rains associated with rising temperatures, increased snowmelt and the breakup of winter ice covering rivers and streams. No link has been established with climate change, but scientists say global warming is favoring extreme weather events such as heavy precipitation causing flooding. The level is expected to increase further, reaching its peak on Friday or Saturday, regional official Sergei Balikin told the state agency Ria Novosti. The authorities, on the other hand, assured that the situation was improving in Orsk, the second city in the Orenberg region flooded after the rupture of a dike, affirming that the level was falling.