IRKUTSK, July 3. /TASS/. A search and rescue party found five out of 13 people listed as missing following devastating floods in southeastern Siberia’s Irkutsk Region, a spokesperson for the regional office of the Russian emergencies ministry has told TASS.
"Five people have been located, eight are listed as missing," the source said.
The death toll remains unchanged. "According to a forensic examination, 17 people died of drowning, one - of hypothermia," the source said.
A total of 3,500 homes in 31 towns and villages, with a combined population of 8,178 people (1,834 of them children) remain inundated. Ten stretches of car roads are flooded, and 12 bridges were destroyed. In the past 24 hours, flood water receded from 11 settlements and 704 dwellings, in which 8,178 people live.
The Russian Emergencies Ministry’s department in the Irkutsk region said in a statement almost 1,500 had sought medical assistance. 221 of them were hospitalized.
"According to updated information from the Irkutsk Regional Center of Disaster Medicine, a total of 1,415 people, including 116 children, sought medical assistance. 1,194 people, including 75 children, received out-patient treatment. 221 people, including 71 children, were hospitalized. The predominant diagnosis is hypothermia," the statement reads.
The epidemic situation in the region remains normal, the Russian Health Ministry said, citing its chief freelance specialist on infectious diseases, Yelena Malinnikova.
"The [epidemic] situation in the region causes no concern and is under full control of the Health Ministry and Rospotrebnadzor specialists. Specific (in the form of vaccination) and non-specific (in the form of sanitary and hygienic measures) prophylactic measures are being carried out, which is a standard response to a situation of this kind," the ministry said in a statement.
The Central Military District (TsVO), whose equipment and personnel assist in disaster response, said it increased the number of mobile medical teams deployed in the flood-hit area from three to six.
Floods in the Irkutsk region started after torrential rains at the end of June. A state of emergency was introduced in the flood-affected areas. The water level in the Iya River has raised seven meters above the critical mark. As many as 83 settlements in six districts have been affected by the disaster. More than 6,600 dwelling houses, which accommodate more than 32,000 people, have been flooded. Overnight to June 30, Russian President Vladimir Putin held a meeting in the city of Bratsk on the situation in the flooded areas.
According to earlier reports, the Central Military District has sent about 1,000 servicemen and 300 pieces of military and special equipment to the disaster zone, along with one An-12 plane and two Mi-8 helicopters. Servicemen will assist in clearing rubble from flood-hit areas, monitor biological situation, render medical assistance and evacuate the injured. Two drone units have also been deployed to conduct aerial surveillance.