More than 2,000 people evacuated due to floods in eastern Russia MOSCOW, Aug. 8 (UPI) -- Heavy rains led to the flooding of 627 homes in Russia's Far East, the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry website said Thursday. "Some 627 homes accommodating 795 people, among them 210 children, as well as 838 subsidiary plots, 15 sections of local roads and three bridges are inundated by heavy rains and Zeya and Urkan river floods in the Zeysky, Mazanovsky, Seryshevo, Blagoveshchensk, Shimanovsky and Konstantinovsky districts," the website said. A total of 2,285 people, including 940 children, have been evacuated from their homes and penal colonies as a preventive measure. There were 1,372 tenants of flooded homes, including 389 children, among that number. Vital services are provided to the evacuees," it said. Interfax reported that 75 shelters have been opened in six districts of the Amur region to house those who have been evacuated. Emergencies Minister Vladimir Puchkov called the flooding, which was brought on by weeks of torrential downpours, a "federal emergency" and that The Russian Defense Ministry sent more than 20 military trucks carrying relief aid to the flood-stricken region, RIA Novosti reported. More than 1,500 of military servicemen and over 250 units of military hardware have been sent out to provide relief, said Deputy Defense Minister Arkady Bakhin.