Satellite imagery reveals the floodwaters that have forced thousands of residents to evacuate along multiple rivers and tributaries of the Ural River in the Orenburg region of Russia, near the Kazakh border.
Satellite Imagery Reveals The Raging Floodwaters Inundating Russia
A satellite image released by Maxar Technologies shows floodwaters in the Russian city of Orenburg on April 9.
Russia is struggling to contain flooding resulting from swiftly melting snow and a dam breach in the city of Orsk in the Ural Mountains.
Orenburg, a city with a population of 550,000 some 1,200 kilometers east of Moscow, saw hundreds of homes flooded and at least 7,700 people evacuated as the Ural River rose swiftly beyond the critical level of 9.3 meters.
The city's air base is surrounded by floodwaters.
Russia's Emergencies Ministry said water levels had declined in a number of areas but described the situation as "still difficult".
Residential areas in Orenburg are surrounded by floodwaters.
Floodwaters along with the Samara River have inundated the town of Sorochinsk, which is about 150 kilometers northwest of the city of Orenburg.
Sorochinsk is submerged by flooding from the Samara River.
Floodwaters from the Buzuluk River approach Andreyevka, a small village in the Ilishevsky district in Bashkortostan.
Flooding from the Buzuluk River in Andreyevka.
Overview of flooded areas from the Ilek River around Akbulak, a small town nearly 100 kilometers south of the city of Orenburg.
A closer view of flooding in residential areas around Akbulak
The flood situation remains acute in parts of Western Siberia, where the peak is expected in three to five days, and in some areas around the Volga River.