INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Several villages in Russia's Far East republic of Sakha are facing severe flooding following heavy rainfall, local authorities said,
around a dam and left a remote village in Siberia "almost entirely" flooded."Due to heavy rains on July 11, despite the installation of
protective structures, a dam broke and flooded the village of Betenkes almost entirely," the regional government wrote on the Telegram
messaging app.The small village lies on the banks of the Adycha River in northeastern Siberia.Villages on the banks of the Adycha,
buildings and homes."At 7:00 a.m
this morning, the water level reached a critical 1,000 centimeters (33 feet)," the local government said.It said 36 homes and more than 100
plots of land had been flooded.A dozen people were in temporary accommodation, while 72 others were staying with relatives, it added.The
local government published photos of rescuers on a small boat leading horses through the flooded village, surrounded by wooden houses in
Sakha, said at an emergency meeting Tuesday.Sakha, also known as Yakutia, has been devastated in recent years by increasingly severe summer
wildfires that experts and Russian officials have linked to climate change
These fires, along with extreme heatwaves, are expected to be more frequent and more severe as the planet continues to warm.Russian
President Vladimir Putin made comments earlier in his rule suggesting skepticism about climate change but has in recent years ordered his
government to protect Russia from the effects of changing weather.AFP contributed reporting.
