Yakutsk - Floodwaters rose relentlessly around the Siberian city of Yakutsk yesterday, engulfing homes in outlying districts, while warplanes bombed massive ice floes in an attempt to unblock the swollen river.
A wave of melting ice which has already destroyed a smaller town upstream on the Lena river was still bearing down on the city of about 200,000 residents, local Emergencies Ministry officials said.
"If the wave reaches us, the water level here could increase by 1-1/2 to two metres," said Mr Pyotr Voitovich, head of a rescue information unit. In Moscow, President Putin discussed the flooding at a cabinet meeting. "Now it is clear that the impact of the flooding will be serious," he said.