Yet another flood hits the Irkutsk region, forcing over 1,000 people to evacuate

Following mass flooding in the Irkutsk region that displaced tens of thousands of people in late June and early July, yet another flood has hit six districts in the area. According to the local branch of Russia’s Emergencies Ministry, 357 homes are now underwater, and 1,076 people have been forced to evacuate.

The most recent wave of flooding, like its predecessor, was triggered by unusually heavy rains, and meteorologists expect high levels of precipitation to continue in the Irkutsk region in the coming days. As early as July 1, in the midst of the previous flood, scientists from Irkutsk State University published a statement linking the excess rain to “observed global and regional climate change” and predicting similar extreme weather events in both the short and the long term.