Deadly fires in Siberia, a state of emergency declared

Posted in: 05/07/2022 – 14:29Modified : 05/07/2022 – 19:43

Several fires broke out, exacerbated by strong winds Siberia Eastern. On Saturday, May 7, local authorities said they had hit hundreds of buildings and killed dozens of people.

And in the Krasnoyarsk region, more than 450 homes were injured and at least five people were killed. There are at least 17 injured, including ten in hospital. A state of emergency has been declared.

And in the Kemerovo region, three dead people were found in a burning house and a criminal investigation was opened. In the Omsk region, two dead and eight wounded.

The impossible resort to planes

“Extinguishing is complicated by weather conditions: strong winds accelerate the spread of fires and make it impossible to put an end to them,” said the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Krasnoyarsk Region. Because of the wind, the fight against fire could only be done on the ground, without resorting to flight.

The region’s governor, Alexander Os, said, following an emergency meeting that appeared in a statement, that the fires were caused by winds that in some areas reached 40 meters per second compared to the planned 25 m/s.

These winds could have caused “trees to fall, overlap and fall of power lines”, as a result of which “fires broke out simultaneously in several regions of the Krasnoyarsk Territory.”

“We have asked for help from our neighboring lands, but we know that it will only happen in the best case in a few hours,” Alexander Oss said.

He added: “I gave the order to cut off the electricity to part of the territory of the region, with the exception of survival facilities, gas stations and water supply systems.”

Rare phenomenon in May

In the worst affected areas, “temporary shelters will be opened and people will benefit from medical and psychological assistance.”

The Meteorological Institute “Rosguidromet has extended the forecast for strong winds to 20-25 m / s tomorrow, and even 30 m / s in the mountains. But the risk of fire will gradually decrease due to the cold,” said TASS director Roman Velvand.

He added, “Such fires are rare in May. But it turned out that there was no rain for a long time, and there were fires in addition to strong winds,” explaining that the fires were man-made.

Unprecedented fires I destroyed it for several years Siberia.

In 2021, fires, particularly in eastern Siberia, released 16 million tons of carbon – the fourth-highest volume since measurements began in 2003 – according to the annual European Climate Report.

with AFP