A dam in Orsk, a city in the southern region of Orenburg, near Kazakhstan, was breached on Friday, forcing civilians to evacuate their homes.

The dam was built to protect the city from the waters of the Ural River. However, the dam failure has led to a devastating flood in the city, which has reached several districts and flooded nearly 2,400 residential buildings.

Local authorities said 4,208 people in the region, including 1,019 children, had been evacuated, according to TASS. Also, 495 temporary accommodation centres for 82,200 people are being prepared.

At least three people have died as a result of the flooding from the dam breach.

Regional authorities noted that the Ural River was almost twice as high as the dam’s intended capacity as of Saturday morning.

The regional prosecutor’s office disclosed that the dam failure was caused by the hydraulic structure not being properly maintained, and a criminal investigation has been opened as a result.

“A state of emergency is in effect in Orenburg,” the head of the Orenburg region, Sergey Salmin, disclosed in a Telegram post on Saturday, 

Mr Salmin said, “This situation leaves us no choice; overnight, the [river] level may reach a critical level. I demand that everyone immediately leave their houses in the flood zone.”

He added, “Those who refuse to leave the danger zone voluntarily will be evacuated forcibly, with the participation of police officers.”

Meanwhile, twelve communities in the area have experienced power outages since the disaster, and these will not be repaired until the water recedes.