Bears Airlifted To Flee Floods Hitting 120-Year Records In Russia’s Far East [Video]

Two brown bears were airlifted to escape floods of unprecedented size on Russia’s Far East. If you hit that button, you will see a video posted by RT which shows the two bears being moved to safety.

It’s a tense situation. Cage and all has to be airlifted by helicopter with the brown bears inside. And the pickup had to be made during a torrential downpour.

The clip is a feel-good moment. The Russian bears are saved.

But RT pointed out that Russia’s Far East is currently being hit by the worst floods in 120 years.

It isn’t just two bears. By their count, over 17,000 people have already evacuated. And Russian Minister for the Far East Viktor Ishayev said that in a worse case scenario, they might have to evacuate as many as 100,000.

A BBC report said that over 20,000 people have been evacuated as the result of the continued flooding in Russia. Emergency workers had set up and stocked 166 shelters with food, water, and medical supplies. However, some people were taking a wait-and-see attitude, because they were reluctant to leave their homes.

The Amur and the Zeya rivers near the Chinese border are the two major arteries hit by the historic flooding. The damage from the ongoing disaster is already thought to total around $91 million.

Both BBC and RT predict that the flood waters won’t completely fall to normal levels until September.

And here is an even more recent video of the Russian flood and its victims. As you’ll see, this report said that 30,000 people have now been evacuated. But the chilling footage includes an interview with a Russian man, his brother, and his cat who are living in their attic because the lower levels of the home are now filled with water.

The bears lived at a tourist resort near Blagoveshchensk in the now-flooded Amur region. Thanks to the airlift, the bears are now on high ground in a mountainous area some 2,600 feet in the air.

[brown bear thumbnail photo credit: thor_mark via photopin cc]