But many residents have refused to leave their homes, electing to wait out the flood in attics and roofs for fear of looting. Emergency officials have been distributing food and drinking water to stranded residents by boat. People in nearby villages have driven their livestock onto higher ground, some tethering their cows to highway markers lining roads. The ministry confirmed further upstream in Lensk, the town that was ravaged last week, about 14,000 residents have been left homeless. Adding to the damage, the Lensk oil reservoir was flooded, spilling approximately 5,000 tonnes of diesel fuel and petrol into the Lena, the Interfax news agency reported.
Siberian rivers flood regularly because they flow from south to north.
Water flowing from the south where the spring thaw occurs earlier runs into blocks of ice that have not yet melted in the north. But local officials were astounded by the intensity of this year's deluge, which experts say was caused by a combination of an exceptionally harsh winter and unusually warm spring. An AOL Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved. Terms under which this service is provided to you.