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Half of Srednekolymsk town in Yakutia flooded

Seven blasts were set off to break it but no avail

VLADIVOSTOK, May 21 (Itar-Tass) — A flood in Yakutia has inundated a half of the town of Srednekolymsk on Monday. In houses that were built in low ground, water reaches ceilings. Out of the town's 3,500 inhabitants, about 1,000 people have been evacuated from underflooded houses. Most of them moved to their relatives and acquaintances who live on high ground. Approximately 150 people have been accommodated at three evacuation centers, Srednekolymsk mayor Yuri Yudin told Itar-Tass by telephone.

The town is being flooded by Kolyma River. A huge, five-kilometre-long, ice gorge developed in the lower reaches of the river. Seven blasts were set off to break it but no avail. "Only bombing aviation can help eliminate the ice-jam," Yudin maintains.

Yudin said the town had not experienced such a disastrous flood for decades. The flood situation is unlikely to improve, forecasts say.

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