Raging Russian fires add to the misery of a heat wave and drought

In a great portion of Russian territory, fires triggered by a record heat wave and drought are burning out of control. The death toll from Russian fires was 48 as of Aug. 6 and entire villages have been consumed by flames. The wildfires liberally covered Moscow under a thick blanket of smoke and have left 4,000 people homeless. In certain areas, nuclear contamination from the Chernobyl disaster locked up within the trees could be re-released by the fires. A rare does of criticism is being laid upon Russian government agencies for their slow response and lack of preparation to fight the fires. Article source – Raging Russian fires add to the misery of a heat wave and drought by Personal Money Store.

Russian fires, heat wave and drought ravage nation

More than 1.6 million acres in Russia have burned since the fires started, the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry said. To fight the fires, the government has enlisted more than 155,000 people. The Wall Street Journal reported that even as 293 fires were put out, more than 400 new fires ignited. A total of 520 fires were blazing across Russia on Aug. 6. The record Russian heat wave that sparked the fires-as well as the Russia’s worst drought in at least three decades-shows no sign of letting up. Searing heat will remain, with some parts of the country reaching up to 107 degrees, until at least Aug. 12.

Russian government feels the heat

As the Russian government fights to get the fires under control, public anger is boiling over. The Financial Times reports that the Russian fires underscore the Russian government’s inability to protect its citizens from both natural and man-made disasters. Russia still labors under corrupt governance, a sloppy safety precautions and a crumbling infrastructure, even with a trillion-plus dollar economy fueled by energy revenues. As the system is “absolutely dysfunctional,” Nikolay Petrov of the Carnegie Moscow Centre told the Times the death toll is much higher in Russia than in other nations where such fires occur. Petrov said communication was far too slow in the “super-centralized” political system put in place under Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin.

Europe could expect drifting nuclear contamination

Concerns about nuclear contamination are being raised as Russia burns. AFP reports that radioactive cesium 137 from the 1986 Chernobyl disaster is locked up in the trees and dead leaves in forests in certain areas of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. Philippe Renaud, head of the environmental radiation laboratory at France’s IRSN nuclear safety institute, said Russian nuclear contamination could possibly be breathed in by people as far away as France If trees in those areas burn.

Additional reading

wsj.com

ft.com

google.com/hostednews/afp/article