RUSSIA HAS declared a state of emergency in seven regions as the death toll climbs from wildfires sweeping the European part of the country. The fires have devastated homes, farmland and forests across a huge swathe of European Russia, which has been left parched by a prolonged heatwave.
A fifth of Russia’s grain crop has been destroyed by lack of rain, prompting a surge in world wheat prices and driving many farmers to the brink of bankruptcy.
At least 40 people have died in the past few days as high winds fanned flames in forests and peat bogs. Russian president Dmitry Medvedev signed a decree yesterday declaring an emergency in the Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod, Ryazan, Voronezh, Mordovia and Mari El regions, the Kremlin said.
The decree bars Russians from entering forests and peat bogs at risk of fire until the emergency is lifted. It also calls for the recruitment of volunteers to help combat the wildfires.
Mr Medvedev urged Russians visiting the countryside to be vigilant. “Much depends on us and on your behaviour,” he said. “It is difficult in the city, stuffy and very hot . . . Everyone wants to go out to the country. Remember, any discarded match can bring about an irrevocable disaster. These are not banal words, it is how things are.”
The government has allocated Rbs6.5bn (€165 million) to compensate and rehouse more than 2,000 people who have been left homeless. Weather forecasters warned yesterday there was no hope of respite from the record-breaking heatwave. – (Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2010)