Double dam burst submerges half of city, Russia evacuates nearly 4,400 people

According to AFP news agency, on April 6 (local time), the Orenburg region government (Russia) had to order the evacuation of 4,400 people, including 1,100 children, from the area that could be affected by the dam failure in the city of Orsk in the Urals region.

On April 5, a large section of the dam suddenly broke, submerging nearly half of the city of Orsk in water. By the evening of April 6, another large section of the dam had broken, making the situation even more serious.

Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered Emergencies Minister Alexander Kurenkov to travel to the city of Orsk to organize damage recovery.

Russian authorities have also opened a criminal case investigating "negligence and violation of construction safety regulations" over the collapse of the dam, which was only built in 2014.

Authorities say the situation is dire across the Orenburg region as the dam failure has caused the Ural River to rise to alarming levels. The water is now directly threatening the city of Orenburg, the capital of the region.

Orenburg Mayor Sergei Salmin did not rule out evacuating people from flooded areas if necessary.

The official stressed that there is no time left to persuade people. Therefore, if people do not voluntarily leave the dangerous area, the city government will forcibly evacuate them with the help of the police force.

The dam collapse in Russia comes as many regions along the Urals and western Siberia have been hit hard by flooding caused by spring thaw.

Not only Russia, Kazakhstan - whose border is not far from the dam's location - is also very concerned about the situation in its neighbor.

Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said the floods over the past two days were one of the worst natural disasters the country had faced in 80 years, and he asked authorities across the country to be ready to provide assistance to those affected.

On the morning of April 7, TASS news agency quoted the head of the disaster relief department of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Kazakhstan, Kaharman Orazalin, as saying that the agency had evacuated more than 63,000 people affected by the floods. Mr. Orazalin added that 3,400 houses were submerged and 10 regions of the country had declared a state of emergency due to the floods.