Rivers recede but flooding plagues thousands in central Russia

MOSCOW (AP) — Water levels in some overflowing rivers in Russia were starting to drop on Monday, but flooding remains widespread, Russian state TV reports said. Water will not fall below dangerous levels for at least another few weeks. More than 5,000 properties in the In Russia’s Kurgan region, about 1,000 miles east of Moscow along the border with Kazakhstan, are flooded, according to the Russian Emergencies Ministry, and 15,000 people have been evacuated. In the Orenburg region, water levels in the Ural River have been steadily decreasing for three days, but 12,000 residences remain flooded, the ministry said. More than 3,000 people have been evacuated due to flooding in the Tyumen region.