More than 10,000 homes in Russia were flooded after a dam burst near the Kazakhstan border, according to authorities. Russia’s Ministry of Emergency Situations said thousands of people have been evacuated in Orsk. The Russian government declared the situation a federal emergency after two major rivers swelled beyond bursting point. This week’s flooding is the worst the area has seen for decades. A Kremlin spokesperson said president Vladimir Putin has asked the government to set up a commission to deal with the emergency and ordered the Tyumen and Kurgan governors to prepare for an “expected sharp rise in water levels”.