Six dead, thousands left homeless by Siberia floods

Six people have died in southern Siberia and thousands more have been evacuated after torrential rain led to major floods.

A state of emergency has been declared in the areas worst hit, the government said in a statement Saturday.

"Nearly 4,000 homes have been flooded by rivers swollen by heavy rains, and around 7,600 people have been displaced," said the statement, from Russia's emergencies ministry.

A separate statement from the ministry said six people had died in the floods, according to the Interfax news agency.

Spring flooding is an annual occurrence in Russia. In 2012, devastating floods killed 172 people in the southwestern town of Krymsk, raising questions about the authorities' handling of such disasters.

Three dead in Iran floods, 600 rescued after landslide
Tehran (AFP) May 31, 2014 - Floods have killed three women in northeastern Iran and emergency workers rescued 600 people from a neighbouring region hit by a landslide, media and the Red Crescent reported Saturday.

Heavy rains hit Iran hard in the past week, with the fatalities being recorded in Khorasan province.

"Following the floods in the province, three women lost their lives on Friday," Hojat Ali Shayanfar, head of a crisis management unit, told the official IRNA news agency.

Meanwhile, relief workers rescued 600 locals trapped after torrential floods and a landslide in Golestan province, Iran's Red Crescent said Saturday. Food was distributed to those affected.

Hassan Sadeqloo, Golestan's governor, was quoted by IRNA as saying the initial estimate of the damage in the province was $49 million (36 million euros).