2024-04-13 03:02:41
Rapidly rising temperatures have melted snow and ice, and torrential rains have flooded large rivers in Russia and Kazakhstan.
According to the authorities of the Tyumen region, the water of the Ishim River in Western Siberia has risen to a dangerous level. Officials predict that the waters of the Ishim and Tobolo rivers will reach their highest level only on April 23-25.
According to Orenburg authorities, the Ural River in the city has already risen by 11.29 meters and is two meters above the critical level. In some parts of the city, only the roofs of houses stick out of the brown water.
Regional official Sergey Balykin told the state-run news agency RIA Novosti that the flood in Orenburg will be at its peak on Friday or Saturday. Authorities said more than 10,700 people out of more than 400,000 had been evacuated. population, approximately 11,700 houses were flooded.
Several villages were also evacuated in Kurgan and Tomsk regions further east.
It is believed that about 100 thousand people left their homes in Russia and Kazakhstan. people. But authorities said conditions had improved in Orsk, which was hit hard by the burst dam. Officials said the water level was falling.
Residents of some cities, angry that the authorities are doing nothing about the crisis, have reportedly staged demonstrations, extremely rare in Russia under the current regime.
Russian priests pray from airplanes for the floods to stop
Russian Orthodox priests took off in a Soviet-era plane over one of the flooded rivers, carrying an icon with them and praying that the unprecedented floods would finally recede.
Priests in the Kurgan region boarded a small AN-2 plane, carrying with them an icon of the Mother of God, to hold, in their own words, an “air procession”, praying that the waters of the mighty Tobol River would not rise.
This flight of theirs took place while waiting for the floods in the region to reach their peak, which is expected to happen in the second half of April.
As the plane flew over the river that flooded the entire meadows, the priests read prayers.
The eparchy of the Kurgan Orthodox Church reported that the clergy took part in an observation flight organized by emergency services.
“During the flight, the clergy recited a prayer to the Mother of God and prayed for the natural disaster to be overcome,” according to her statement published on Thursday evening.
The head of the local Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Danilas, said that the faithful asked him to fly around the flood zone while saying prayers.
“In the lands of Russia there is a tradition of praying for people by organizing processions on foot or on horseback,” he was quoted as saying in a church statement.
According to Sventiks, icons have been saving Russia in difficult times for a long time and now they will help it overcome the biggest floods that have occurred in several decades.
He instructed the churches near the Tobolo River to pray for the water to recede.
As water levels rose, Russia evacuated thousands of people, but reported that more homes were flooded.
Kazakhstan reported evacuating more than 96,000 residents.
2024-04-13 03:02:41