Residents Of Flooded Orsk Began Drinking Water From Puddles

Due to lack of water supply for almost two weeks.

Residents of the Russian Orsk began to collect water from puddles, the corresponding footage was published by the Telegram channel “7x7 - Horizontal Russia”.

There has been no water supply in the city for the 12th day, which is why people are forced to take such measures. Also, when it rains, townspeople hang buckets out of their windows. The water obtained in this way is usually used for domestic and technical needs.

After a flood in the city, some of the wells from which water was taken remain flooded, writes Novye Izvestia. “Water is now worth its weight in gold in Orsk. Volunteers deliver drinking water, and there are huge queues for it. Water flows from the tap intermittently and is dirty. My son, apparently out of forgetfulness, brushed his teeth with this water, the result was a 40 degrees fever and vomiting for 3 days, he suffered from poisoning,” local resident Anna told the publication.

According to Mayor Vasily Kozupitsa, the wells will be put into operation when the flood recedes, since if flood waters enter the wells, drinking water will be contaminated.

Flooding in Orsk began on April 5 after a dam that protected the city from the Ural River broke. On April 8, Orsk residents held a rally at the administration building demanding increased compensation for the loss of property. They also expressed dissatisfaction with the actions of local authorities during the flood and called on Vasily Kozupitsa to resign.

Izvestia learned that the Orsk authorities allocated significantly less funds for the maintenance of the dam than for the city flower beds and the square near the city administration.

The dam was built in 2014 for almost 1 billion rubles allocated from the budget. As the head of the Ministry of Construction of the Russian Federation, Irek Fayzullin, said after the incident, the structure was an earthen rampart and could not be worth the money spent.

On April 15, the Anti-Corruption Foundation reported that a month before the flood, the son of the mayor, Nikolai Kozupitsa, purchased an apartment in Dubai with an area of more than 90 m² in the elite Binghatti Nova complex with a swimming pool and a gym. The property cost him 33 million rubles. The investigation also stated that Kozupica Jr. left Russia immediately after the announcement of mobilization in the autumn of 2022, at first he lived in Saudi Arabia.

Responding to the investigation of Alexei Navalny’s associates, Vasily Kozupitsa said that his son was invited to work in Saudi Arabia and spoke about the difficult living conditions there, noting that his child “achieved everything on his own.”

Commenting on the false information about Kozupitsa Jr.’s apartment in Dubai, United Russia, of which Vasily Kozupitsa is a member, stated that they do not intend to apply any sanctions against the mayor of Orsk, since he “hasn’t done anything discrediting” and “there are no questions” for him.