Kazakhstan and Russia battle huge floods

Astana, Kazakhstan: More than 90,000 people have been evacuated from rising rivers in northern Kazakhstan and Russia s southern Urals, which are witne...

Astana, Kazakhstan: More than 90,000 people have been evacuated from rising rivers in northern Kazakhstan and Russia's southern Urals, which are witnessing one of their worst flood disasters in decades.

Rivers have been overflowing for days in 10 regions of Kazakhstan, as well as in Russia's western Siberia and Orenburg regions, flooding entire cities and villages.

Both Moscow and Astana have introduced a state of emergency.

"Since the beginning of the floods, more than 86,000 people have been rescued and evacuated," the Kazakh government said on Tuesday.

It said 3,365 residential buildings had been flooded in five different regions of the vast Central Asian country.