Officials in Russia’s Ural and southwestern Siberian territories have mandated immediate evacuation protocols as river levels surge rapidly, triggering extensive flooding, power disruptions, and displacement of inhabitants.
As per Russia’s emergency ministry, over 300 houses and close to 700 residential plots have succumbed to flooding in the Kurgan region, situated along the Tobol River near the border with Kazakhstan.
The ministry issued a warning via the Telegram messaging app stating, “the water level in the Tobol River is rising swiftly.”
In the city of Kurgan, the administrative centre of the region, power has been cut off, affecting approximately 1,500 residents, as confirmed by local officials late on Monday.
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Governor Vadim Shumkov of the Kurgan region expressed concerns about the severity of the situation, anticipating a potentially “very difficult” scenario with the Tobol River’s waters rising up to 36 feet, nearly double the bursting level at some locations.
Residents of Ishim, a town with a population of 65,000 in the Tyumen region of southwestern Siberia, bordering Kazakhstan, were urgently asked to evacuate on Tuesday due to a critical rise in the water level in the Ishim River that flows through the town.
Late on Monday, the region’s governor issued a warning about the potential for all-time high water levels in the region’s rivers in the coming days.
