Toll from Russian wildfires rises to 40
Source: Agencies |
August 3, 2010, Tuesday
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THE death toll from wildfires in Russia rose to 40 people yesterday and Moscow was shrouded in a new blanket of pungent haze from nearby peat bog fires.
Still, firefighters reported making some headway against the blazes that have destroyed hundreds of homes, burned through vast sections of tinder-dry land and forced thousands to evacuate.
Vladimir Stepanov, head of Russia's Emergencies Ministry's crisis center, said about 500 new wildfires were sparked nationwide in the past 24 hours but most of them were immediately doused.
"Most importantly, the mission we are tasked with - to avert the spread of fires to population centers, and to avoid more death - is being accomplished," Stepanov said in televised comments.
Even so, Russians remained wary, as lull in the most intense heat wave since the country began keeping records 130 years ago appeared to be ending. Experts predicted a new week of temperatures hitting 38 degrees Celsius.
Muscovites awoke yesterday to a sharp burning smell from the smoldering peat bogs south and east of the capital, haze that has increased the city's already-high pollution readings.
Wildfires were still burning yesterday across 125,000 hectares, mostly in central and western Russia, slightly less than the area torched over the weekend, Stepanov said.
About 1,500 homes have been wiped out by fires, spurred by the heat wave that has dried forests and fields to a crisp.
Russian news reports said the bodies of two children, aged seven and nine, were found yesterday in a village outside Moscow that had been destroyed by fire. It was not yet clear if they were included in the death toll of 40.
A state of emergency was still in effect in 14 regions, including around Moscow and the southern cities of Voronezh and Nizhny Novgorod.
In the half-destroyed village of Maslovka near Voronezh, emergency officials handed out food and clothing to residents yesterday as the heavy smoke and smog cleared. In the nearby village of Shuberovskoye, which also had been decimated by fire, locals complained that they were abandoned by firefighters.
"Nobody came to us and nobody helped us," said Anna Izmakina, 79. "We called by phone several times, trying to call firefighters - they set off, but never arrived."
Still, firefighters reported making some headway against the blazes that have destroyed hundreds of homes, burned through vast sections of tinder-dry land and forced thousands to evacuate.
Vladimir Stepanov, head of Russia's Emergencies Ministry's crisis center, said about 500 new wildfires were sparked nationwide in the past 24 hours but most of them were immediately doused.
"Most importantly, the mission we are tasked with - to avert the spread of fires to population centers, and to avoid more death - is being accomplished," Stepanov said in televised comments.
Even so, Russians remained wary, as lull in the most intense heat wave since the country began keeping records 130 years ago appeared to be ending. Experts predicted a new week of temperatures hitting 38 degrees Celsius.
Muscovites awoke yesterday to a sharp burning smell from the smoldering peat bogs south and east of the capital, haze that has increased the city's already-high pollution readings.
Wildfires were still burning yesterday across 125,000 hectares, mostly in central and western Russia, slightly less than the area torched over the weekend, Stepanov said.
About 1,500 homes have been wiped out by fires, spurred by the heat wave that has dried forests and fields to a crisp.
Russian news reports said the bodies of two children, aged seven and nine, were found yesterday in a village outside Moscow that had been destroyed by fire. It was not yet clear if they were included in the death toll of 40.
A state of emergency was still in effect in 14 regions, including around Moscow and the southern cities of Voronezh and Nizhny Novgorod.
In the half-destroyed village of Maslovka near Voronezh, emergency officials handed out food and clothing to residents yesterday as the heavy smoke and smog cleared. In the nearby village of Shuberovskoye, which also had been decimated by fire, locals complained that they were abandoned by firefighters.
"Nobody came to us and nobody helped us," said Anna Izmakina, 79. "We called by phone several times, trying to call firefighters - they set off, but never arrived."
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