The flood situation remains critical

The mayor of Orenburg in Russia announced that the flood situation in the city is still “critical” and that water levels will continue to rise in the coming days.

Floods severely hit the Orenburg region in the Ural Mountains, in addition to nearby Russian regions and parts of neighboring Kazakhstan, in the past few days, forcing at least two thousand people to evacuate their homes.

Russian news agencies reported that the Orsk oil refinery suspended work on Sunday after a dam in the city was damaged on Friday evening as a result of floods that struck the Orenburg region.

The Russian Information Agency indicated that the suspension of operations aims to avoid environmental risks.

The refinery is located about 1,800 kilometers east of the capital, Moscow, near Russia’s border with Kazakhstan, and has an annual capacity of six million tons of oil.