Russia's Far East hit by worst floods in 120 years
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E-mail CNTV, August 20, 2013
The worst flooding in more than a century is ravaging Russia's Far East, with water levels at local reservoirs reaching historic highs. The Amur River, which divides Russia and China, rose 17 centimeters in one day. Its water level now stands at 6.57 meters, threatening thousands of homes and residents.
There's water, water everywhere. Russia Far East's Amur region has been hit by a month of heavy rainfall. The Amur river's banks have burst due to the onslaught of rain, submerging over one million square kilometers of land.
The disaster has been a blow to the area's economy. With 400,000 acres of land flooded, the potential losses are estimated at up to 2 billion rubles, or 60 million US dollars.
"All the arable land has been flooded: tomatoes, potatoes, there is nothing left. Tomorrow we have to prepare as much animal feed as possible, so the livestock has something to eat," the governor of Amur region Oleg Kozhemyako said.
But the local government has bigger worries than just the livestock.
"It's impossible to live here now, my kitchen is flooded and I have nothing to eat," one resident said.
The floods are currently affecting over 30,000 locals, and 17,000 residents have already left the area because of the disaster. The floodwaters are expected to continue rising even further, which could force up to 100,000 residents to evacuate.
The army and emergency workers have set up 166 temporary shelters in the region, providing drinking water, hot food and medical supplies.
But Russia's meteorology monitoring service says the floods aren't set to stop until the beginning of September. That means the worse could still be yet to come.
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