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Russian Emergencies minister says situation in Orsk critical

4,518 residential buildings and 4,587 areas have been flooded

ORSK /Orenburg Region/, April 7. /TASS/. Russian Emergencies Minister Alexander Kurenkov has described the flood situation in the city of Orsk as critical.

"A critical situation has developed in the city of Orsk, where protective structures on the Ural River have been destroyed. As a result, 4,518 residential buildings and 4,587 areas have been flooded," he said at a meeting of the regional government commission.

According to the minister, more than 4,000 people, including 885 children, have been evacuated from the flooded areas of the region. In Orsk, 11 temporary shelters with more than 8,000 places have been set up. There are 510 people in them, including 116 children.

The partial collapse of a dam in Orsk, second largest city of Russia’s Orenburg Region, occurred in two places on the night of April 6. Another breach took place in the evening of the same day. Water from the Ural River reached several neighborhoods, according to the latest data, more than 6,000 residential houses were flooded. The bodies of two people were found in the flooded area, but they weren’t killed by the emergency, officials said. Authorities have declared a regional-level emergency situation and are urging residents to evacuate.

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