"We're all neighbors now. No, not neighbors. FAMILY."

Earlier this year, unusually high spring runoff caused floods in Orenburg Oblast. Thousands were left homeless after dams burst along the Ural River in Orsk. Yet again, authorities were unprepared for a disaster, and many residents had to face the elements on their own. Last April, two journalists traveled to the flooded city to tell the story of how mutual aid and solidarity saved lives. They met with volunteers, including those rescuing animals, and one of them even managed to make it to “the island” in the middle of the Old City, where people formed a makeshift commune.

By the middle of February, Russia’s Hydrometeorological Center had already deemed the passing winter the snowiest in several decades. Then, in late March, many Russian regions experienced a sudden temperature increase. In Orenburg Oblast, the daily average temperature jumped from -2° to 9°C (28° to 48° Fahrenheit) in a matter of days, while the daily high reached 16°C (60°). As a result, the spring thaw occurred faster than usual, overwhelming the Ural River.

Orsk is the second-largest city in Orenburg Oblast, with some 190,000 residents. The first breach of its dam occurred on the evening of April 5. The waters reached the 9.6-meter mark – the norm is under five meters – and started to wash over the river’s left bank. On the next day there was another breach, and the waters surged past the right bank. In total, the people and animals of more than 10,000 households in the flood zone were trapped in their homes without drinking water, electricity, gas, heat or working sanitation.