4 thousand people evacuated after a dam collapsed! (photo)

More than 4,000 people were evacuated from an area flooded after a dam collapsed yesterday, Friday, in the Russian Orenburg region in the Ural Mountains, according to what regional authorities said today, and the accident occurred during a period of melting snow.

The media office of the regional governor, Dennis Bassler, announced via Telegram that “4,208 people were evacuated, including 1,019 children.”

The authorities indicated that “water flooded” a little more than 2,500 homes in this border area with Kazakhstan.

In a separate post, Basler said evacuees would be moved “to temporary accommodation centers,” announcing exceptional financial aid.

The dam, which partially collapsed, was officially designed to meet the level of the Great Ural River in the region, i.e. 5.5 metres, but it has now reached 9.6 metres, according to regional authorities.

Regional authorities also pointed to the melting of snow, which caused a “rise” in the water levels of rivers in the region, including the Ural, as an additional “cause” of the floods.