Specialists of the Synodal Department for Church Charity and Social Service visited the flood—stricken Diocese of Orsk on April 10-11, 2024.
The trip took place with the blessing of Bishop Panteleimon of Verey, Chairman of the Synodal Department for Charity. During the trip, representatives of the Department met with the mayor of Orsk, Vasily Kozupitsa, and the head of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia for the Orenburg Region, Alexander Zenov, and discussed issues of cooperation on joint assistance to victims. They also visited local residents in three temporary accommodation facilities, talked to them and found out their needs.
"Now the water is gradually receding in Orsk, but most of the Old City is still in the water. Due to the fact that the water is draining, people gradually began to return from the PVR to their homes, 20-30 people leave every day. The PVRs are mainly located in the New City, which is less affected. They are provided with everything necessary: here the victims are given clothes, food, drinking water, — said Vasily Rulinsky. — According to targeted requests, the victims turn to benefactors and to us, to the Synodal Department for Charity, and to the social department of the Orsk diocese, which also responds promptly and delivers everything necessary for people. Today, people really need spiritual support, the priests of the Orsk dioceses have been visiting people in the PVR since the first days of the flood and will continue to come there and spiritually support the victims."
During the meeting with the city administration and representatives of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, employees of the Synodal Department for Charity discussed issues of cooperation on joint assistance to victims in the near future and in the long term. It is planned that after the water starts to drain, the Church will help in draining the houses. To do this, the Synodal Department for Charity on the church platform "Let's Help" opened a fundraiser for people in Orsk and in all settlements affected by the flood. The donations collected will be directed primarily to the purchase of equipment for pumping water and dehumidifying residential premises, hygiene products, bed linen, mattresses, pillows, clothes, and targeted needs of the victims. In the near future, lists of people in need and their targeted requests will be compiled.
Humanitarian supplies will also be sent to Orsk from the Synodal Department of Charity in the near future. The Yekaterinburg and Kazan dioceses have already joined the assistance.
During the visit to the PVR, the staff of the Synodal Department for Charity handed over memos about the church's hotline 8 (800) 70-70-222. You can use this phone number to ask for help in flood-affected settlements. The same memos, in agreement with the administration of Orsk, will be placed in large shopping centers.
Specialists of the Synodal Department of Charity also visited the church in honor of the Transfiguration of the Lord in Orsk, which is located on a hill in the Old Town, and talked with the rector of the church, Archpriest Alexander Kutsov. Hundreds of people have taken shelter in the temple since the first hours after the flood, and dozens of people are still coming for help. A field kitchen is deployed here, people are given drinking water and provided with everything they need. The building of the comprehensive school, which is located on the territory of the parish, houses people whose houses are still flooded and who have nowhere to go.
From the first hours of the emergency, the Synodal Department for Charity was in touch with the Diocese of Orsk. Local priests regularly visit temporary accommodation facilities, communicate with people, provide spiritual support and help those in need. The Orsk Diocese organized the evacuation of several families with children to the Magnitogorsk Diocesan Mother and Child Care Center.
On April 5, a dam broke in Orsk, Orenburg region, which protected the Old Town area from the floods of the Ural River. In general, about 10,100 residential buildings and more than 18,400 household plots were flooded in the region, and about 6,400 people were evacuated.