Rescuers save families, farm animals and one pet hamster after Russian floods

MOSCOW (Reuters) -Rescuers ferried more than 100 people to safety this week, along with their farm animals and pets, after floodwaters caused by heavy rain engulfed villages in a sparsely-populated part of eastern Russia.

Emergency crews piloted rubber dinghies down flooded streets in settlements in Russia's Sakha Republic, also known as Yakutia, a vast region larger than Argentina.

Some villagers clambered out of windows and were taken on piggyback into waiting boats. Rescuers also took in cows, hens and at least one pet hamster, video released by the region's emergencies ministry showed.

Yakutia, a swampy and forested region, has been hit by a string of floods and fires in recent years - extreme weather-related events that scientists say are exacerbated by climate change.

Authorities have put out 169 forest fires in this fire season alone, which runs roughly from the beginning of May until the end of September.

This week, aerial footage showed villages submerged in brackish floods, with just roofs showing among the water.

Around a third of those rescued were children, the ministry said. In all, 93 residential buildings were flooded in eight villages, it added.

(Reporting by Reuters; Writing by Lucy Papachristou; Editing by Andrew Heavens)