Russian Army units evacuate another 550 people from zones of flooding in Far East

Units of the Russian Armed Forces have evacuated another 550 people from the zones of flooding in the Jewish Autonomous Region, a constituent territory located along the banks of the Amur River in the Far East of Russia. Military specialists are fortifying the dykes in the townships of Leninskoye and Amurzet. A about a thousand meters of dykes has been built since Saturday afternoon and about 7,000 sand sacks have been laid. Engineering services of the Eastern Military District have put up a pontoon bridge across the Dobraya River near the town of Bijan, the press service of the Defense Ministry said in a report. Also, six provisional water treatment facilities have been put up and the distribution of potable water to local residents has begun in the towns of Smidovichi and Babstovo. All in all, more than 5,000 Army servicemen, 940 vehicles, about 50 aircraft, and some 42 engine boats of the Defense Ministry are engaged in rescue operations in the Far East that has been stricken by severe floods in the past two weeks.