MOSCOW, April 10 (Xinhua) -- The flood situation in Russia is "tense" as the water levels continue to rise, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday.
Peskov noted that the forecast is "unfavorable" so far as floods have reached new regions, including the Kurgan region and the Tyumen region.
The spokesperson called for efforts from government officials at all levels to help people.
More than 13,000 residential buildings have been flooded in Russia, and over 7,700 people have been evacuated in the worst-hit Orenburg region, local media reported Wednesday.
In the Kurgan region, over 4,500 residents were preventively evacuated, most of them from the Zverinogolovsky district, where the situation is the most serious, said Vadim Shumkov, the regional governor.
The water level in Tobol River in the region is expected to reach 9-11 meters, Shumkov said, adding that the flood peak is forecasted to arrive on April 11-14. In the Zverinogolovsky district, the water level of Tobol River rose to 9.52 m, with 1.27 m remaining to the critical level.
In the flood-prone Yalutorovsky district of the Tyumen region, preventive evacuation of residents has begun, the TASS news agency reported Wednesday, citing local authorities.
The passage of the flood wave in the Tyumen region is expected in three to five days, the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations said Wednesday.
Due to a continuous rise in daily average temperatures, snowmelt, and rivers thawing, floods have been ravaging Russia's western Siberia, the Volga region and the Central Federal District. ■
