Rescuers evacuate residents of a city after heavy rainfall ruptures dike in the Urals

Massive rainfall has ruptured a dike in the Russian city of Orsk, authorities said Friday, prompting hasty evacuations in the surrounding area. The Russian Ministry of Emergency situations says that evacuations are undergoing in Orsk.

According to the city authorities, more than 4,000 houses and some 10,000 people are in the affected area near the border with Kazakhstan, and at risk of being flooded. The Orenburg region has been lashed with heavy rainfall, with more than 1,800 homes in 95 localities flooded, and more than 3,000 people evacuated, the governor's press service said.