Hundreds evacuated as Russian village flooded

Over 1,000 homes were damaged as a river in central Russia’s Ryazan region rose, displacing 300 people and turning streets into canals, officials said Tuesday.

The local Moksha river rose earlier this week, flooding the village of Kadom and cutting off access.

“1148 houses, populated by 3545 people, were flooded in Kadom following the rise of the river,” Ryazan region’s emergency ministry branch said in a statement.

319 people have been evacuated from the area, and another 350 have been working non-stop, building levees out of sandbags and other materials, the statement said.

Locals however expressed frustration that emergency workers arrived only two days into the disaster after the rapid onset of spring swelled the river with melted snow, starting the flood last Thursday.

While river levels have stopped rising, locals are forced to travel by boat, on horseback or by bicycle while wearing tall rubber boots and even wet suits. Some houses are still halfway under water, an AFP correspondent observed during a visit. Water rose by about eight meters over the weekend, the emergency ministry said.