Anger boils over for some amid record floods in Russia’s Urals

At least 100 Russians asked for help from President Vladimir Putin on Monday in a city struck by the worst flooding ever recorded

At least 100 Russians asked for help from President Vladimir Putin on Monday in a city struck by the worst flooding ever recorded, chanting “shame on you” at local officials who they said had done too little to help their plight. Russia declared an emergency in the Orenburg region near Kazakhstan after the Ural River, Europe’s third longest river, swelled several meters in hours on Friday, and burst through a dam embankment in the city of Orsk. Swathes of Orsk, a city of 230,000 about 1,800 km (1,100 miles) east of Moscow, have been left submerged. Late on Monday, Tass news agency quoted the press service of Russia’s Emergencies Ministry as saying flood waters in Orsk had subsided 9 cm (3.5 inches) over a two-hour period. The service warned, however, that “the situation remains difficult, though water levels have begun to come down a bit in some areas.” People had earlier come out in front of the local administration in Orsk, some chanting “shame on you, shame on you” and “Putin help,” according to video footage from the scene published by local media. With their properties either destroyed or severely damaged, some are unhappy with the compensation offered by authorities. Some are also unhappy that the dam embankment built in 2010 was unable to defend their city.