Death Toll Rises To Five In Flood-Stricken Siberian Region

Officials have declared a state of emergency in Irkutsk due to the flooding.

Russian emergency officials have raised the death toll to five people and say that at least six settlements are still cut off following devastating flooding that has forced hundreds of evacuations in southern Siberia.

The Emergency Situations Ministry on June 29 said some 350 people had been injured in the floods, and 100 were being treated in area hospitals.

The ministry said that an IL-76 plane had arrived in the region late on June 29 with emergency supplies.

The state-run TASS news agency said more than 4,000 residences, 16 roads, and 13 bridges in 27 towns and villages had been affected by the floods, which hit the region just west of Lake Baikal.


The ministry also said that more flooding was likely in coming days.

President Vladimir Putin flew into the city of Bratsk, northwest of Baikal, on June 29 as he returned to Russia from the Group of 20 summit in Japan.