Military reinforcements are rushing to the city of Komsomolsk-on-Amur in Russia’s Far East over the risk of levees failing and submerging thousands of people in water.

The city’s flood defenses stretch over 5 kilometers long and are 8 meters high. They consist sandbags and earth, is next to the area which risks to be swept by fierce floodwaters. 

The level of water in the city of Komsomolsk-on-Amur has risen to 9 meters 13 centimeters, and is expected to reach its peak over the next few days. 

“Every time the situation appears to be under control, it worsens, in many cases setting new records,” RT’s Lynsey Free reported from the city.
 

Some 3,000 people are being evacuated from the city. Ten temporary shelters have been established to accommodate them. 

“It's not the same Amur [River] anymore, it’s almost an Amur sea, with its width ranging from 20 to 30 kilometers and over 1,000 kilometers in length,” said Yury Varakin, head of the emergency situations department at Russia’s Hydro-Meteorological Center. 

The situation on the ground remains very tense, with the flooding affecting not only houses, but also farmlands. As a result, locals’ livelihoods have been hit hard by the flooding.

Essential food supplies have also been wiped out by the disaster.

Residents have already endured two months of intensive flooding, and there seems no end in sight. 

Rescue workers are doing their job in extreme conditions: in the darkness, chest-deep in water. Over 45,000 people and 7,000 pieces of equipment are involved in tackling the crisis.

Nearly 100,000 people have been affected by the disaster, and up to 16,000 people have already been evacuated. 
Deputy Prime Minister Yury Trutnev said Wednesday that Russia’s federal government is providing $360 million in aid to parts of the Far East devastated by the raging flash floods.
 

• A Permanent Economic Emergency