MOSCOW (Reuters) – The Kremlin said on Tuesday that President Vladimir Putin was focused on dealing with flooding but that the most difficult days were still ahead for the Kurgan and Tyumen regions.
Swiftly melting snow across swathes of the Ural Mountains and Siberia has swelled some of the biggest rivers which surge across the wilds of Russia, with at least 10,500 homes recorded as flooded so far and many thousands more at risk.
“The difficult days are still ahead for the Kurgan and Tyumen regions,” Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. “There is a lot of water coming.”
The Kremlin said Putin had discussed the situation by telephone with President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev of Kazakhstan, which has also been badly hit by flooding.
Asked if Putin would visit the region of Orenburg, Peskov said Putin was constantly being updated on the situation but there were no current plans to visit the region.
“Putin is effectively, although he is not there physically, constantly present in this subject,” Peskov said. “He is constantly dealing with these issues throughout the day.”
“This is the hottest moment right now. We will see what happens in a few days,” Peskov said.
Residents of the city of Orsk asked Putin for help on Monday as they chanted “shame on you” at local officials, who they said had done too little to aid their plight.
Peskov said local and emergency officials were overseeing the situation and communicating constantly with residents – and that some residents had initially refused to be evacuated.
States of emergency have been declared in multiple Russian regions and the authorities have warned the water levels are rising in major rivers.
(Reporting by Reuters; editing by Guy Faulconbridge)
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