Ukraine flooding leaves three dead, hundreds homeless

KIEV: Three people have died and hundreds have fled their homes in western Ukraine following the worst flooding in a decade, authorities said Wednesday.

"The situation is critical," said Prime Minister Denys Shmygal, who flew to the disaster zone with the interior minister and the head of the emergency services.

Floods caused by heavy rains that began this week hit 200 villages, damaging almost 6,000 homes, the emergency services said in a statement.

Later in the day, President Volodymyr Zelensky urged officials "to find a systemic solution, strengthen the banks of the rivers."

The worst-hit region is Ivano-Frankivsk on the Romanian border. The flooding forced the evacuation of a hospital in the town of Galych.