Pope asks for prayers for those affected by flooding in Kazakhstan

By Deborah Castellano Lubov and Stefan Bos

“I wish to convey to the people of Kazakhstan my spiritual closeness at this time,” Pope Francis underlined during his general audience on Wednesday, recalling the massive floods which affected many regions of the country, which he visited in September 2022.

“I invite everyone to pray for all those suffering from the effects of this natural disaster,” he said.

The Pope's comments came during his greetings to English pilgrims.

“Even in difficult times, we remember the joy of the risen Christ,” said the Holy Father.

110,000 people evacuated in Kazakhstan and Russia

Massive meltwater submerged many settlements in Russia's Ural Mountains, Siberia, the Volga River and parts of Kazakhstan.

The unrest comes after large rivers like the Urals, which flow into the Caspian Sea, exceed their bursting point by more than 70 cm to reach more than 10 meters.

In Orenburg, a Russian city of 550,000 located about 1,200 km east of Moscow, hundreds of homes were flooded. Authorities said at least 7,700 people had been evacuated as the Ural River rapidly rose beyond the critical level of 9.3 meters.

Orenburg residents said it was the worst flood in living memory, while Russian officials described it as the worst flooding in the region since records began.

In Kurgan, a Russian region straddling the Tobol River, 4,500 people were evacuated and fears grew that thousands, if not tens of thousands, would be evacuated.

The flooding situation has been acute in parts of Russia's Western Siberia region, the world's largest hydrocarbon basin, where the peak is expected in three to five days, and in some areas around the Volga River, the most great river of Europe.

Kazakhstan is suffering

Russia said 10,500 homes were flooded in 37 regions, mainly in the Orenburg region. Upstream of the Urals, which flows into Kazakhstan, floodwaters have already burst through an embankment dam in the Russian city of Orsk.

But most of the suffering became evident in neighboring Kazakhstan, prompting the pope to express his spiritual closeness to the struggling population.

In Kazakhstan, authorities said 96,000 people had been evacuated. People worked through the night to build dikes and reinforce embankments.

The state of emergency remains in force in 8 of the country's 17 provinces, compared to 10 at the end of last week, but the dangers remain.

Tensions arose, with Moscow officials suggesting that Kazakhstan was to blame for its failure to coordinate water release more effectively.

President Vladimir Putin spoke with Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev as the two countries struggled to cope with massive flooding.

Appeals for the Holy Land, Ukraine and Myanmar

In his greetings in Italian, Pope Francis once again prayed for all those suffering from the ongoing wars ravaging the world.

“My thoughts,” the Pope said, “are with tormented Ukraine, Palestine and Israel,” as he prayed: “May the Lord give us peace!”

“War is everywhere – let us not forget Myanmar,” he continued, “Let us ask the Lord for peace and let us not forget our brothers and sisters who are suffering so much in these places of war.”

With this reflection, the Holy Father concluded by urging the faithful to join him in praying together for peace.