Mass evacuations as floods in Russia’s Kurgan region set to peak
Al Jazeera
Kurgan and Tyumen regions of Russia, and parts of Kazakhstan, are threatened by some of the worst flooding in history.
Authorities in Russia are warning people to evacuate affected areas as Russia’s Kurgan and Tyumen regions and swaths of northern Kazakhstan are flooded. Tens of thousands have already abandoned their homes.
Flooding is expected to peak on Monday in Kurgan, a region of 800,000 people at the confluence of the Ural Mountains and Siberia, as the Tobol River swelled with meltwater and burst its banks, rising to 6.31 metres (20.7 feet) in the main city.
Russia and neighbouring Kazakhstan have been grappling with some of the worst flooding in living memory after very large snowfalls melted swiftly amid heavy rain over land which was already waterlogged before winter.
Kurgan Governor Vadim Shumkov said there was almost a “sea” of water approaching the area and fresh rainfall was making the situation worse.
“The city of Kurgan itself will be next,” Shumkov said.
