Rescuers drain 453 flooded homes in Irkutsk region
IRKUTSK. July 2 (Interfax) - Rescuers are cleaning up the flood aftermath in the Irkutsk region, where water levels are on decline, the regional branch of the Emergency Situations Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.
"A total of 516 homes were checked for possible presence of tenants in six districts of the region - Nizhneudinsk, Taishet, Tulun, Chuna, Zima, and Kuytun - over the day. As many as 453 flooded homes were drained, and 1,304 household plots were cleaned up. About 1,000 cubic meters of water were removed from 795 household plots by use of electric pumps," the statement said.
Rescuers have cleaned up 44 kilometers of motorways and a bridge across the River Azei in Tulun, it said.
Power supply has been restored in 18 populated localities.
According to the ministry's update, 96 populated localities have been flooded in the region since June 25. The floods affected 10,097 homes of 32,798 people, including 7,938 children, and 6,847 household plots, as well as 49 social facilities: first-aid and obstetrics stations, schools, and kindergartens.
Homes were flooded in the Nizhneudinsk, Taishet, Tulun, Chuna, Zima, and Kuytun districts where Angara's eastern tributaries Uda, Biryusa, Iya, Chuna, and Oka burst their banks.
As of Monday morning, floods continued in 42 populated localities in three districts, including 23 in the Tulun district, 14 in the Chuna district, and five in the Taishet district. A total of 4,130 homes with the population of 9,325, including 2,208 children, as well as 4,143 household plots, eight social facilities, and 11 road sections are flooded.
This is the heaviest flash flood experienced by the Irkutsk region over more than a century of weather monitoring. It was caused by heavy rains that hit western districts on June 24-27. Weathermen are not expecting another wave of floods.