Nearly 12,000 homes are flooded in a Russian region bordering Kazakhstan as water levels keep rising

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian authorities say that nearly 12,000 houses have been flooded in a region that borders Kazakhstan as water levels in the Ural River keep rising. The floods have sparked evacuations of thousands in the Orenburg region, located some 1,200 kilometers, about 745 miles, southeast of the capital of Moscow. The flooding started last week, when a dam on the river burst under the pressure of surging water. Russia’s government has declared a federal emergency. Further east along the Kazakhstan border, authorities in the regions of Kurgan and Tyumen are also preparing for possible floods and as water levels are rising in local rivers. Floods have also hit Kazakhstan.