Russians protest after burst dam devastates homes and leaves thousands without electricity

Vladimir Putin has ordered a crackdown ’lawlessness’ in a region of Russia devastated by severe flooding, with thousands of residents forced to flee their homes as authorities struggle to bring the deluge under control. The Russian President instructed Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev and police ’to ensure the protection of order and property of people in flood zones’, with some 4,500 so far displaced after the Orsk dam burst under the strain of flooding along the Ural river on Friday night. Kolokoltsev and local police have reportedly been instructed to prevent looting as residents are moved to temporary accommodation and rescue teams work tirelessly to pull people and animals to safety. Water levels reached around 30ft in the Ural mountain region of Orenburg yesterday, leaving more than 6,600 residential buildings flooded and residents without power in several areas. Mayor Sergei Salmin, responsible for nearly half a million people said authorities could begin to forcibly evacuate peop