Over 48 hours on April 17-18, the village of Malye Yarki in Russia's southern Tyumen region was inundated after the Ishim River burst its banks amid widespread flooding that hit several regions of southern Russia and northern Kazakhstan.
Locals of Malye Yarki who reached Russian emergency services by phone as water flowed into their village say they were promised rescue. Instead, several hours later, the flooded residents were pulled to safety by good Samaritans from a neighboring village.
Now around 14 people, including children, live in an open field with supplies brought to them only by their fellow citizens.
Tatyana, a resident of Malye Yarki whose name has been changed, said that when flooding began, residents "all began to gather -- children, parents, pets, and livestock," to await rescue.
But after several hours without any sign of the promised rescue teams, Tatyana said some locals of a neighboring village began to arrive with "fishing waders who were prepared for the situation." By the time the residents of Malye Yarki were taken out of the village "we were were frozen to the bone."
Crucially, Tatyana says, the stranded residents did not make efforts to escape on their own because they were waiting for the promised emergency services to arrive.
"We called the Emergencies Ministry," she claimed. "They said, 'Yes, yes, we will come soon,' but in the end they never arrived. After four hours, we were picked up by those residents who were doing things themselves."
Tatyana says a local official also assured the villagers that temporary accommodation would be provided in the nearby village of Peshnevo. But, she said, "when we arrived no one in the administration knew anything about it."
According to the now homeless flood victims of Malye Yarki, residents of neighboring Peshnevo remain their only source of help. The locals brought the flood victims tents, food, and water, and provided them an open field where they could set up camp.
Officials, the Malye Yarki residents say, do not respond to appeals for help.
"We have children and old people here, but the authorities have provided no housing, no food or drinking water," Olga, another member of the village, said.
"The media are claiming that everyone was saved, In fact, almost 20 people evacuated themselves and are now living in the open," she added.
"People from Peshnevo organized themselves and came. It's all thanks to them, they put together tables for us and brought a trailer so that at least the children would not sleep on the ground. We understand that the government is not to blame for a natural disaster, but surely it's responsible for rescuing people and helping them get back on their feet afterward?" Olga asked rhetorically.
"The neighbors can't constantly feed us and bring water. They themselves are running short of supplies," she added.
Aleksandr Moor, the governor of the Tyumen region, announced on his Telegram channel on April 19 that "we need to understand that we are faced with a large-scale flood. This level of water has not been seen since 1947. Now the most important thing is to evacuate people from the dangerous areas. We cannot delay."
Nikolai Ignatov, the head of the local administration of the region hit by floods, was reached by telephone but refused to comment on the issue of the stranded Malye Yarki residents. He hung up when pressed about the issue by a journalist from RFE/RL's Siberia.Realities.
