GORNO-ALTAISK, May 30. /ITAR-TASS/. An emergency situation regime has been issued in the Republic of Altai on Friday over floods caused by excessive precipitation in the past four days, the republic’s branch of the Emergencies Ministry told Itar-Tass.

Rescue teams of the Russian Emergencies Ministry (EMERCOM) and local authorities have organised evacuation of the population from flooded houses with 119 people taken to temporary shelters and 406 housed at their relatives’.

“The floods have destroyed 12 bridges - seven for vehicles and five for pedestrians, thus transport communication with eleven villages has been disrupted,” the EMERCOM said.

Two Ilyushin Il-76 planes were sent to Siberia carrying rescue equipment, KAMAZ trucks and boats. Rescue operations involve 693 people, 147 vehicles and a Mi-8 helicopter.

Russia’s Hydrometeorological Centre said on Friday heavy rains were expected to dampen Siberia through the end of the week, with lower temperatures and more coming showers, thunderstorms and hail, which would cause floods in the region. Freezing temperatures of down to five degrees Celsius and high winds would only worsen the situation in some of the regions.

The forecast warning was issued for residents in the Krasnoyarsk, Altai, Irkutsk and Transbaikalia Territories and in the republics of Khakassia, Altai and Tuva.

Russian Emergencies Minister Vladimir Puchkov has dispatched the Tsentrospas national rescue team and the Leader Centre team for high-risk rescue operations to the areas in danger. and promised that the victims of the flooding in Siberia would receive from 10,000 roubles to 100,000 roubles ($287 to $2,878) in compensations from the government’s fund.

“We are enlarging our rescue group in Siberia,” the minister said at a teleconference in Moscow on Friday. “We are tasked with protecting all the townships and potentially hazardous areas. Meanwhile, a special space system monitors the situation and the met office and all the federal structures are engaged.