According to the authorities, flooding in ten northern districts of Kazakhstan have forced tens of thousands of people to flee. Snowmelt has resulted in seasonal floods that are more severe than typical. The floods in the Russian city of Orsk, which is located 1,800 km southeast of Moscow, have forced the closure of an oil refinery. Water levels in some places are rising more quickly than they have in the previous 100 years, the Kremlin has warned. Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said President Putin had ordered the governors of the Siberian regions of Tyumen and Kurgan, further to the east, to prepare for "expected sharp rise in water levels" and "inevitable" floods. Russian authorities said on Saturday that they had evacuated almost 4,500 people in Orenburg region in the area around Orsk. During a visit to Orsk on Sunday, Russian Emergency Situations Minister Alexander Kurenkov, warned that "a critical situation" had developed after a dam was breached on Friday. Russia's weather monitor has warned that water levels on the Ural river in the city of Orenburg will reach dangerous levels over the next three days. Regional authorities said they expected the "peak" of the flood on Tuesday and for the situation to stabilise after 20 April. Meanwhile in Kazakhstan, the emergency ministry said on Sunday that some 12,000 people were being housed in temporary shelters. It said rescuers also managed to move about 60,000 farm animals to safe areas. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said on Saturday that it was the worst natural disaster to hit Kazakhstan for 80 years. In a televised address to the nation, Mr Tokayev said the government had ramped up efforts to mitigate the impacts of the floods and that all necessary assistance would be provided.