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Death toll in Irkutsk Region floods climbs to 24

A source in the regional emergency services said earlier that 24 people had died in the floods while nine more were still missing, Russia’s Emergencies Ministry confirmed the deaths

© Kirill Shipitsin/TASS

MOSCOW, July 9. /TASS/. Russia’s Emergencies Ministry confirmed on Tuesday that 24 people died in the Irkutsk Region floods.

"According to the data as of 17:00 Moscow time, nine persons are missing and 24 people died [in the floods]," the ministry’s regional branch told TASS.

A source in the regional emergency services told TASS earlier on Tuesday that 24 people had died in the floods while nine more were still missing.

A total of 10,800 houses in 107 communities that are home to over 34,000 people, including more than 8,000 children, were flooded from late June when floods started in the Irkutsk Region in East Siberia. Forty-nine socially significant facilities, more than 11,000 residential yards and 48 road sections were flooded, and 22 highway bridges of local significance were damaged.

As of Tuesday morning, 190 houses in the town of Tulun remained flooded. The emergency regime continues to be in effect in the region.

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