The water level in the Tobol River in the Kurgan region of the southern city of the Urals in Russia exceeded the "dangerous level", the RIA Novosti agency reported, citing local authorities, Reuters reported, BTA reported.
The river in the city, which is the administrative center of Kurgan Oblast, which is located near the border with Kazakhstan, rose by 123 cm in 24 hours, reaching 865 cm this morning, RIA reported.
In central Kurgan, evacuation sirens go off every two hours, urging residents to leave and go to safe places. Authorities said the river was reaching a "dangerous" level after it exceeds 850 cm.
More than 660 residential buildings were flooded in the region, RIA quoted the Ministry of Emergency Situations. Residents of 14 villages in the Ishim region of Southwest Siberia's Tyumen region were also evacuated today due to the threat posed by the rising level of the Ishim River, officials said. Water levels in rivers in parts of the Urals and southwestern Siberian regions, as well as neighboring regions of Kazakhstan, are still rising rapidly, officials said.
The water level in the Tobol River in the Ketovo region of the Kurgan Region, where the 10-meter limit was already overcome near several villages, continues to rise by 2-11 cm every two hours, TASS reported. In Kurgan Oblast, 334 houses and 1148 farms were flooded due to the rising water in the Tobol River, 25 settlements were without electricity. The authorities are calling on residents of all settlements in the flood zone of Tobol, including the administrative center of the district, the city of Kurgan, to evacuate.
The disaster was caused by the rapid melting of large snowpacks in conditions of heavy rains, which led to the unusual expansion of the tributaries of several of Europe's largest rivers. The total number of people evacuated from their homes rose to around 200,000 late yesterday after the governor of Russia's Tyumen region told residents of the town of Ishim (population 65,000) that they must leave the city urgently.