Flood hits Yakutia

Heavy rains forecasted for June 18-20 in Yakutia's south and the Irkutsk region will aggravate the flood situation in the Lena River area, the Far-Eastern regional center of the Russian Emergencies Ministry said on Friday.

The number of flooded Yakut settlements will increase, the center added.

Today the water level in the Lena River near the villages of Vitim and Peledui is 1.5 meters higher than the critical mark. Over 500 people were evacuated from these settlements.

Special teams are on the alert 24 hours a day. Sites to evacuate people and livestock were prepared.

People in the flood area are provided with food and drinking water, the regional center reported.

All in all, 103 men and 37 technical units are involved in the liquidation of flood consequences.

The Lena is one of the world's longest rivers. It is 4,400 km long. It is Russia's largest river after the Yenisei. It flows from the mountains to the west of Lake Baikal crosses North-Eastern Siberia and falls into the Laptev Sea (the Arctic Ocean).