The spring flooding that has hit the Russian region around Orenburg – some 1,200 kilometres to the south-east of Moscow – has passed its peak, authorities in the region reported on Sunday. Water has begun draining from more than 1,500 homes and 1,400 gardens, the regional administration said on Sunday. Water levels in the Ural River have fallen sharply in the city of Orsk, near the border with Kazakhstan. The city was hit by flooding some 10 days ago. In the regional capital of Orenburg, also on the Ural, levels reached a peak of 11.87 metres on Saturday, almost 2.5 metres above the critical l…