More than 100,000 evacuated after flooding hits Russia and Kazakhstan

More than 100,000 have been evacuated from flooded regions of Russia and Kazakhstan. 

Russia’s Minister of Emergency Situations released video showing transport aircraft delivering aid to affected regions. The aid consisted of food, bottled water, personal hygiene products, medical supplies, blankets and rubber boots.

Footage also showed aircraft described as being loaded with dam-building equipment to be delivered to regions hit the worst. 

The ministry said the ‘dams’ – tubes that are to be filled with water and used to create flood barriers – would protect settlements in the region where the ministry said the flood situation is “extremely complicated.”

The level of flooding exceeded 11 metres in the the region of Orenburg, Russia, according to local authorities. 

The flooding, described as the worst to hit the region in decades, is believed to have been sparked by a sudden period of warm weather that caused a mass snowmelt in the Ural Mountains and some areas in Siberia.