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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 individuals scrambled to heed main warnings to get away.

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

It is the worst flooding seen in the areas 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 situation important.

Drone video showed much of the city has actually turned into a large. lake, dotted with the roofings of homes - a minimum of 12,000 of which. have been flooded - glancing up above the brown water.

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

All the furnishings in my house has actually increased by 50 cm (1.5 ft),. regional resident Vyacheslav told as he sat in an idling. motorboat and looked over his shoulder at his two-storey brick. home, partly immersed in brackish water.

Judging by the water levels, all the furniture, some. home appliances and interior decorating materials are. messed up, he said. It's a colossal quantity of cash.

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

We resemble Noah's Ark, shelter director Yulia Babenko told. , rows of animal cages holding felines behind her.

Volunteers from other Russian regions have arranged help for. the animals, but Babenko stated she had up until now gotten scant. assistance from authorities.

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

Water pumps roared outside a now-empty medical center whose. furniture had actually been stacked high to stay dry.

Director Svetlana Sudareva said she had tried to get ready for. the disaster, releasing patients, cancelling upcoming. consultations and eliminating essential medical equipment.

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