Record floods triggered by melting snow

Swiftly melting snow triggered the worst recorded flooding in Russia's Ural Mountains, forcing thousands of people to flee their homes as some of Europe's biggest rivers swelled to bursting point.

Russia declared an emergency in the Orenburg region near Kazakhstan after the Ural River, Europe's third longest river, swelled several metres in hours on Friday, and burst through a dam embankment in the city of Orsk.

The river, which rises in the Ural Mountains and flows into the Caspian Sea, reached dangerous levels yesterday in Orenburg, a city of 500,000 down river from Orsk, and the peak is expected there on April 10, Russia's emergency ministry said.

More than 10,400 homes across Russia have been flooded, with the Urals, Siberia, the Volga and central regions the worst hit, said the ministry.

"An increase in air temperatures, active snow melt and river openings are predicted," Russia's emergency ministry said. "More than 10,400 residential buildings remain flooded in 39 regions," it added.