Six dead in devastating floods in Dagestan

Heavy rains in Dagestan have claimed the lives of six people, Russian Emergency Situations Minister Alexander Kurenkov said, according to Interfax. 

Earlier, five fatalities had been reported.

"Over 200 people have been rescued by EMERCOM [Russia’s Ministry of Emergency Situations] units. Unfortunately, six people have died,” Kurenkov said during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on April 7.

The severe rainfall on March 28 and April 4–5 caused widespread flooding across Dagestan. 

Authorities declared a state of emergency in several cities and districts of Dagestan, including Makhachkala, Khasavyurt, Buynaksk, Dagestanskiye Ogni, Kaspiysk, and surrounding areas.

Rising water levels flooded a section of the federal highway in the Derbentsky district. Over 4,000 people were evacuated from four neighbourhoods in the district following a dam breach at the Gedzhukh reservoir. According to Dagestan head Sergey Melikov, more than 6,200 people were affected by the floods.

A criminal case has been opened in connection with the deaths.

By Jeyhun Aghazada