Water levels continue to rise after dam burst near Kazakhstan border after torrential rain

Thousands of people have been evacuated from the Orenburg region, in the southern Urals near Kazakhstan, due to flooding after a dam burst.

Emergency services had been working through the night after the dam burst in the city of Orsk on Friday after torrential rain.

The press service of the Orenburg governor said 4,208 people, including 1,019 children, had been evacuated and more than 2,500 homes were affected.

Russia opened a criminal case for “negligence and violation of construction safety rules” over the burst dam, which was built in 2014.