Related News:
Russian Wildfires Kill 25 as Record Heat Wave Prompts States of Emergency
Wildfires in central Russia claimed 25 lives as drought and record heat forced the government to declare a state of emergency in four more crop-producing regions.
The fires destroyed 1,170 houses and left 2,178 people homeless as of 4 p.m. today, Irina Andrianova, a spokeswoman for the Emergency Situations Ministry, said by telephone. Two firefighters were among the dead, she said, adding that the Moscow, Nizhny Novogorod, Ryazan and Voronezh regions are the worst-hit.
Drought ruined plantings on at least 10.3 million hectares (25.5 million acres), compared with 10 million hectares a week earlier, an Agriculture Ministry spokeswoman, who declined to be identified in line with official policy, said today. A state of emergency has now been declared to a total 27 regions.
Moscow set a heat record for the second time in a week yesterday, with temperatures in the Russian capital reaching 37.8 degrees Celsius (100 degrees Fahrenheit), the hottest since records began 130 years ago. The worst drought in a decade may lead to grain prices doubling this year, the Grain Producers’ Union has said, causing inflation to quicken.
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, on a trip to the region around Nizhny Novgorod, about 400 kilometers (250 miles) east of the capital, said people who lose their homes to the fires will receive 200,000 rubles ($6,610) in compensation, split between the federal and regional governments.
Amphibious Aircraft
Putin said prosecutors will investigate the performance of local officials in fire-affected areas. His comments in the village of Verkhnyaya Vereya were broadcast on state television.
President Dmitry Medvedev ordered the government to take emergency measures to fight the forest fires, and called for proposals on the purchase of additional fire-fighting equipment, including amphibious Be-200 aircraft, the Kremlin said on its website.
Seven people died when a thunderstorm accompanied by high winds struck the Leningrad region around St. Petersburg, RIA Novosti reported, citing an unidentified Emergency Situations Ministry official.
To contact the reporters on this story: Patrick Henry in Moscow at phenry8@bloomberg.net; Torrey Clark in Moscow at tclark8@bloomberg.net
Rate These Stories
Rate this Page