MOSCOW: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has sent a message of sympathy to Russian President Vladimir Putin in connection with the flooding in Russia’s Orenburg region, North Korean state-run news agency KCNA reported on Monday, reported Sputnik. 

Kim extended deep consolation to the Russian people who suffered serious material damage from flooding, the report said.

Russia’s Orenburg region faced flooding earlier in April due to meltwater, rising water levels in the Ural River and increased water discharges from a local water reservoir. Moreover, on Friday, a dam protecting the regional city of Orsk from the Ural River burst, resulting in the mass evacuation of local residents. On Saturday, a burst of the second embankment dam occurred in the city, causing the expansion of the flooding area.

On Sunday, the local authorities said 6,127 people, including 1,478 children, were evacuated from flooded households, while as many as 10,168 residential houses were affected by the disaster. - Bernama, Sputnik