Thousands Flee Homes in Russia, Kazakhstan Amid Worst Flooding in Region’s Recorded History

Mayor of Russia’s flood-hit city of Orenburg describes the situation as ‘difficult and tense.’

The flooded part of the city of Orsk in Orenburg region, southeast of the southern tip of the Ural Mountains, Russia, on April 8, 2024. Russia said on April 8 that more than 10,000 residential buildings were flooded across the Urals, Volga area, and western Siberia as emergency services evacuated cities threatened by rising rivers. Anatoliy Zhdanov/Kommersant Photo/AFP via Getty Images

Several rivers in southern Russia and northern Kazakhstan burst their banks this week, forcing tens of thousands of people to flee their homes amid the region’s worst spring flooding in decades.

According to Russia’s TASS news agency, more than 13,000 homes in south-central parts of the country have been partly or entirely inundated with water.