On 19 August 2013 the International Charter: Space and Major Disasters was activated to support flood response efforts in the Far Eastern Federal District of Russia. The region, after receiving heavy rains during the month of July, has been struck by unprecedented flooding, affecting approximately 32,500 people and leading to mass evacuations.
In order to host the 17,000 evacuees from the Amur Region, Khabarovsky Territory and the Jewish Autonomous Region, emergency shelters have been set up. Although it is believed that the flooding has reached its peak, it is expected that the rain will continue until September. The flooding has already been reported as the worst that the region has suffered in over a hundred years.
