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Monday
Aug092010

Wildfires in Russia Destroy Villages, Bases, and Possibly Weapons Depots

DateMonday, August 9, 2010 at 10:02AM | |

In the midst of a record heat wave, which has caused the deaths of approximately 700 people per day, and droughts causing a food crisis, Russia is battling a series of wildfires which have decimated entire villages and communities.  Though initial reports have denied that any military bases were in danger, the latest news is that at least one large base was destroyed, along with several aircraft and equipment at the base.

The fires have also threatened a number of nuclear facilities and research centers which are closed to foreigners and can only be accessed by special permits. Though officials are saying that the fires are now under control and the facilities are no longer in danger, unconfirmed and unofficial reports are that facilities that housed nuclear weapons, and possibly chemical and biological weapons have already been destroyed and radiation levels around Moscow are on the rise.

Officially, even though the facilities have been destroyed they are saying all nuclear materials and weapons were removed from the supply depot. Also, Russian official s are telling everyone to leave Moscow if they can due to increased risk of carbon monoxide and other pollutants.  One official, Onishchenko, is telling people "Those who can should take a break from work or away on vacation." Tens of thousands have left the city, including many high ranking Russian state officials.

Reports in Moscow of embassy closings are making headlines including a travel warning issued by the United States Department of State citing “hazardous air quality.” Local businesses have been hit hard since many employees are fleeing the city and JP Morgan Chase & Alfa Bank, Russia’s biggest private lender, canceled daily research reports as many of their workers have fled or opted to stay home.  Some 104,000 people left the city just yesterday alone.

The fire is likely to continue to burn for several months in some areas where peat bogs caught fire and can smolder for long periods until heavy rains return to the region. Villagers in some of these areas are complaining that they had to battle the fires themselves without help or fire trucks and outrage is growing where entire villages once considered a paradise have been completely burnt to the ground.

 

Video from RT

Another Video from RT

For more please view the references below.



AuthorKeith Erwood | CommentPost a Comment | Reference13 References
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References (13)

References allow you to track sources for this article, as well as articles that were written in response to this article.
  • Source
    Source: Anger Rages Amid Russian Fires
    by RICHARD BOUDREAUX at Wall Street Journal on August 9, 2010
    In Lukhovitsy, a logging and industrial town 84 miles southeast of Moscow, people say they fought the flames spreading from the peat bog for days with no outside assistance. "We survived only because the wind shifted," said Olga Kubysheva, who lives amid the pines on the edge of town and fears the authorities can't protect her if the fast-spreading flames return. "The fire is still in our forest, and the forest is our yard. We are frightened."
  • Source
    Source: Russia declares state of emergency at Urals nuclear town Read more: Russia declares state of emergency at Urals nuclear town - Europe - World - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/europe/Russia-declares-state-of-emergency-at-Urals
    at The Times of India on August 9, 2010
    The emergency was the latest concern to hit a major Russian strategic site due to the wildfires which have already badly damaged military depots and threatened other atomic facilities. Read more: Russia declares state of emergency at Urals nuclear town - Europe - World - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/europe/Russia-declares-state-of-emergency-at-Urals-nuclear-town/articleshow/6282384.cms#ixzz0w8O6R8Gh
  • Source
    Source: Muscovites Flee Worst Heat `in 1,000 Years'; Death Rate Doubles
    by Denis Maternovsky and Maria Levitov at Bloomberg on August 9, 2010
    In the Chelyabinsk region, a fire emergency was declared in Ozyorsk, site of the Mayak center for processing and storage of spent nuclear fuel, the local government said on its website. The heat wave that has plagued central Russia since June is the worst in the country’s history, said Alexander Frolov, head of Rosgidromet, the federal weather service. “In 1,000 years, neither we nor our ancestors have observed or recorded anything like this sort of heat,” he said in televised comments.
  • Source
    Source: Radiation, plague, and fires: foreign embassies urgently evacuate staff from Russia
    at KavKazcenter.com on August 7, 2010
    Unofficially, they speak about plague in Russia, but first of all, about sharply elevated radioactive background in the city, caused by destruction of atomic bombs in fires at nuclear weapons arsenals outside Moscow. According to unofficial information, warehouses of chemical and bacteriological weapons were also burnt down. The final decision on immediate evacuation of foreign diplomats from Russia was made after the ringleader of the Russian terrorist gang Disaster Ministry, Shoigu, said t
  • Source
    Source: Russian Federation
    on August 6, 2010
  • Source
    Source: Russian Fire Victims Criticize Response as Peat Feeds Flames
    by Willy Morris at Bloomberg on August 8, 2010
  • Source
    Source: Russian Wildfire Threatens Nuclear Facility
    at Voice of America on August 4, 2010
    While 3,000 firefighters battle flames and try to protect Russia's main nuclear weapons laboratory, the head of Russia's nuclear agency sought to reassure the public that all radioactive materials have been removed. Nuclear chief Sergei Kiriyenko told President Dimitri Medvedev all explosive and radioactive materials have been taken away. He said he guarantees there is no danger to nuclear security, no threat of radiation, explosions, or environmental consequence.
  • Source
    Source: Russia sees no threat of nuclear accident from wildfires
    by Igor Serebryany on August 6, 2010
    On the 65th anniversary of the U.S. nuclear bombing of Japanese Hiroshima, the fear of another nuclear disaster, although one of far more local scale, is wafting over the Russian town of Sarov. Sarov, a small town 300 km east of Moscow, hosts the Russian Nuclear Research Center and has an atomic reactor in its heart. The reactor's compound, supposedly filled with high-enriched uranium, has been surrounded by wildfires for a few days, local media reported.
  • Source
    Source: Fires continue to rage in Russia, nuclear centre at risk - Summary
    at Earth Times
    A fire had erupted near the nuclear research centre in Snezhinsk, about 80 kilometres south of Yekaterinburg, the civil defence ministry told the Russian newswire Interfax Sunday. Fire services had so far been able to contain it.
  • Source
    Source: Moscow death rate doubles as wildfires threaten nuclear - Summary
    at Earth Times
    "Since the creation of our country, so since 1,000 years, there hasn't been anything comparable - when it comes to the heat, neither we nor our ancestors have ever recorded anything like this," Alexander Frolov, the head of the state meteorology service, told the Interfax news agency.
  • Source
    Source: Shoigu Says Wildfires Out of Control
    at The Moscow Times on August 4, 2010
    “The fire destroyed base quarters, the accountant's office, a club, two garages, 13 hangars with aviation equipment of various kinds and 17 parking areas with vehicles located there,” the Prosecutor General's Office said in a statement.
  • Response
    Response: Frank Dellaglio
    at Frank Dellaglio on June 10, 2014
    Disaster Preparedness Blog - Emergency Preparedness Tips, Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Emergency Management - DISASTER PREPAREDNESS BLOG - Wildfires in Russia Destroy Villages, Bases, and Possibly Weapons Depots
  • Response
    Response: freedom mentor reviews
    at freedom mentor reviews on June 10, 2014
    Disaster Preparedness Blog - Emergency Preparedness Tips, Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Emergency Management - DISASTER PREPAREDNESS BLOG - Wildfires in Russia Destroy Villages, Bases, and Possibly Weapons Depots

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