Over 12,000 houses remain flooded in Russia's Orenburg region

ORENBURG. April 23 (Interfax) - More than 12,300 houses and over 19,700 plots in 61 populated areas in Russia's Orenburg region remain inundated by floodwaters on Tuesday morning, the regional government said on its Telegram channel.

"A total of 12,361 houses, including 34 apartment buildings, and 19,727 plots remained flooded in 61 settlements and 44 garden communities in 12 municipalities as of 8:00 a.m. on April 23," the government said.

Floodwaters have receded from 44 houses and 148 plots, but a further 103 houses and 132 plots have been inundated over the past 24 hours.

Specifically, 282 houses and plots remain flooded in Orsk, and over 5,500 houses and more than 10,200 plots are flooded in Orenburg.

A total of 17,800 people, including over 4,900 children, have been evacuated from inundated areas since the start of the floods, according to the latest updates. Over 730 people, among them 121 children, are currently staying at temporary accommodation centers.

The power supply has already been restored to nearly 55,900 consumers in the region. Gas is being supplied to 18,300 consumers.

More than 303,800 cubic meters of water have been pumped out of houses and over 1,100 houses have been dried out in the region. The disinfection of flood-damaged houses and plots is ongoing.

The water level in the Ural and Sakmara rivers near Orenburg had dropped below the dangerous mark by Tuesday morning. Water levels in rivers near other communities have also been decreasing gradually.

The Orenburg region has been hit by the most severe floods in decades. The region declared an emergency on April 4. The flood was designated a federal emergency on April 7 following a decision of a government commission. The regional authorities estimated the damage at 40 billion rubles, with Orenburg and Orsk, where a dam burst on April 5, hit the hardest.