Streets in another district of Orenburg have turned into fast-flowing rivers.
The roar of water pumps filled the empty streets of the flood-hit Russian city of Orenburg on Friday as people heeded official warnings to escape.
The city of 550,000 people, about 1,200 kilometers (750 miles) east of Moscow, is grappling with historic flooding after the Ural, Europe’s third-longest river, burst its banks. Rapidly melting snow has forced the evacuation of more than 120,000 people in Russia’s Ural Mountains, Siberia and Kazakhstan.
It was the region’s worst flooding in nearly a century. The level of the Ural River through Orenburg rose to 11.43 meters (37.5 feet) on Friday, up from 10.87 meters (35.5 feet) a day earlier.
Mayor Sergei Salmin called the situation “critical.”
Drone footage showed that much of the city had been transformed into a giant lake dotted with roofs of houses, at least 12,000 of which had been flooded.
For many people living in low-lying homes, it is almost impossible to save their belongings.
“Everything is flooded, everything is gone, everything is flooded,” Dmitry Dragoshantsev said as he waded through waist-high floodwaters that devastated him The home is located in Viktoria, a small village outside Orenburg.
He tried to save some money by moving the washing machine up the basement stairs with the help of neighbors.
Another resident, Vyacheslav, sat on an idle motorboat and surveyed his two-story brick house, which was partially flooded with brown water. He said everything inside rose by 50 centimeters (1.5 feet) in the floodwaters.
“Judging by the water levels, all furniture, some household appliances and interior decoration materials were destroyed,” he said. “It’s a huge amount of money.”
A local animal shelter takes in more than 350 animals, ranging from strays to family pets abandoned by their owners to escape to dry climes.
“We are like Noah’s Ark,” shelter director Yulia Babenko told Reuters, with cats in rows of animal cages behind her.
Volunteers from other parts of Russia have organized aid for the animals, but Babenko said she has received little assistance from authorities so far.
Streets in another district of Orenburg have turned into fast-flowing rivers.
Water pumps roared outside a now-empty medical clinic, where furniture was stacked high to keep it dry.
Director Svetlana Sudareva said she had done her best to prepare for the disaster, discharging patients, canceling upcoming appointments and removing critical medical equipment.
“We mobilized in time,” she said. “I think everything will recover. I think, with the epidemiological measures in place, I hope we will recover as well.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
