The authorities in Russia's Caucasus region of Chechnya Saturday evacuated over 2,500 people from their homes in the capital Grozny due to flooding caused by heavy rains that burst a dam, officials said.
The local branch of the emergencies ministry said in a statement that a total of 2,688 people were affected and required evacuation after 673 homes were hit by the flooding.
The flooding was caused when heavy rain over the last two days led to the bursting of the dam over the river Sunzha that protects the city from floodwaters.
There were no reports of casualties.
The controversial head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, appeared on the scene to inspect the broken dam and vow that all the evacuated families would receive accommodation until the waters receded, Russian news agencies reported.
The Kremlin fought two wars against separatist rebels in Chechnya since the collapse of the Soviet Union. The situation has stabilised somewhat in the last years although attacks by Islamist-inspired insurgents are still frequent.
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