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'We're like Noah's ark' says animal shelter in flooded Russian city

The roaring noise of water pumps filled the deserted streets of the floodstricken Russian city of Orenburg on Friday as people observed authorities warnings to escape.

The city of 550,000, about 1,200 km (750 miles) east of Moscow, is facing a historical deluge after Europe's. third-longest river, the Ural, burst its banks. Quickly melting. snow has currently forced more than 120,000 individuals to leave in. Russia's Ural Mountains, Siberia and Kazakhstan.

It is the worst flooding seen in the locations in almost a. century. The Ural River, which cuts through Orenburg, rose to. 11.43 metres (37.5 ft) on Friday, up from 10.87 metres (35.5 feet). a day earlier.

Mayor Sergei Salmin called the scenario crucial.

Drone footage revealed much of the city has actually developed into a large. lake, dotted with the roofing systems of homes - at least 12,000 of which. have actually been flooded - glancing up above the brown water.

For many in low-lying homes, little can be done to conserve. their possessions.

Whatever flooded, everything's lost, everything, said. Dmitry Dragoshantsev as he learnt the waist-high water. that had destroyed his home in Viktoriya, a hamlet just outside. Orenburg.

He heaved his washing device up his basement stairs with. the help of a neighbour, attempting to save what he could.

Another homeowner, Vyacheslav, sat in an idling motorboat and. surveyed his two-storey brick home, partially submerged in brown. water. He stated whatever inside had risen 50 cm (1.5 feet) in the. flood.

Judging by the water levels, all the furniture, some. household devices and interior decoration materials are. destroyed, he stated. It's a gigantic amount of cash.

A local animal shelter discovered itself hosting over 350. animals, a mix of strays and household animals dropped off by owners. leaving for dry ground.

We're like Noah's Ark, shelter director Yulia Babenko told. , rows of animal cages holding cats behind her.

Volunteers from other Russian areas have organised aid for. the animals, however Babenko stated she had up until now gotten scant. help from authorities.

Streets in another district of Orenburg had actually become. fast-flowing rivers.

Water pumps roared outside a now-empty medical center whose. furnishings had been stacked high to remain dry.

Director Svetlana Sudareva said she had tried to prepare for. the catastrophe, discharging clients, cancelling upcoming. appointments and getting rid of key medical equipment.

We mobilised in time, she stated. I believe whatever is. going to recover. And I think that we, after the epidemiological. procedures - I hope that we will likewise recover..