Duran leads Al Nassr past Yokohama Marinos into AFC Champions League Elite semi-finals    Al Ahli cruise past Buriram into AFC Champions League Elite semi-finals    Saudi Arabia offers condolences to Iran following deadly Bandar Abbas port explosion    Saudi Arabia welcomes Palestinian leadership reforms, appointment of Hussein Al-Sheikh    Ministry of Hajj issued over 150,000 Nusuk cards for the Hajj of 2025    Saudi Arabia deports 12,866 illegal residents in a week    Pope Francis laid to rest at historic funeral in Rome    Massive explosion at Iran's Shahid Rajaee Port injures over 500 people    SFDA clears first 44-ton medical shipment for Hajj pilgrims    Over 13 million worshipers pray at Rawdah Sharif in a year    Saudi orchestra to perform at Sydney Opera House in May    Al Hilal thrash Gwangju to reach AFC Champions League Elite semi-finals    Nammos Amala Resort to open soon with Saudi-Greek designs    Saudi Arabia completes 674 Vision 2030 initiatives, achieves 93% of KPIs as ninth-year milestone marked    GACA chief chairs 16th meeting of the Steering Committee on aviation's strategy    Alkhorayef praises advancements in Al-Kharj food industries sector    Saudi Theater Commission launches its Work and Learn Project in UK    The season has begun — and one comment shook us all    Average life expectancy in Saudi Arabia rises to78.8 years    Famed Philippine film star Nora Aunor dies at 71    Pakistani star's Bollywood return excites fans and riles far right    Veteran Bollywood actor Manoj Kumar dies at 87    Bollywood actress vindicated over boyfriend's death after media hounding    Grand Mufti rules against posting prayers and preaching in mosques on social media    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



29 dead as forest fires rage across Russia
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 31 - 07 - 2010

Forest fires raged across Russia on Friday, destroying villages, surrounding one southern city and killing at least 29 people, including three firefighters.
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin consoled survivors at one smoldering village and urged officials to redouble their efforts against the blazes.
The fires have spread quickly across more than 200,000 acres in recent days after a record heat wave and severe drought. July has been the hottest month in Moscow in 130 years of recorded history. Fields and forests have dried up, and much of this year's wheat harvest has been ruined.
Putin on Friday visited the ruins of Verkhnyaya Vereya, where all 341 houses were burned to the ground and five residents died in the blaze. The village was one of three destroyed around Nizhny Novgorod, Russia's fifth-largest city located 300 miles east of Moscow.
“Before winter, each house will be restored,” Putin told a crowd of distressed villagers, most of them women. “I promise - the village will be rebuilt.” One weeping woman thanked him for his “serious talk” and promises of compensation of 200,000 rubles ($6,500) for each villager, and Putin kissed her on the cheek. Fires have all but encircled Voronezh, a city of 850,000 people, some 300 miles south of Moscow.
The streets of Voronezh were filled with smog Friday and a giant wall of rising black smoke could be seen on the horizon, television footage showed.
More than 900 patients had to be hurriedly transferred out of a Voronezh hospital and nearly 2,000 children were evacuated from 12 summer camps in the path of the flames.
Firefighters were pouring water on the forests from the air, emergencies services spokeswoman Olga Izvekova said.
At least 25 people have died in the past two days from the forest fires, officials say. Fires in the Voronezh, Nizhny Novogorod and Moscow regions alone have destroyed more than 1,000 houses and left more than 2,000 people homeless, according to the country's Emergencies Ministry.
Fires also were raging in 11 other regions in central and southern Russia.


Clic here to read the story from its source.