Russia's Ministry for Emergency Situations and Civil Defense /EMERCOM/ has issued a warning about a possibility of emergency situations in Moscow City and Moscow region in connection with heavy rainfall and thunderstorms expected Tuesday, August 5. “Tuesday, Moscow City and Moscow region will likely experience heavy showers, hail, thunderstorms, and winds with blasts reaching 15 meters per second to 20 meters per second,” an official at EMERCOM's information department told Itar-Tass. “In this connection, we forecast a high probability of emergency situations and disruptions in the activity of vital facilities, road services and public utilities, and the housing system that may be caused by water-logging in lower areas,” he said. Also, EMERCOM experts do not rule out breakdowns of power transmissions lines, irregular work of public transport, and an increase in the number of road accidents on both local roads and federal highways. “Besides, there's a possibility of a collapse of infirmly fixed engineering structures, including promotion billboard, and disruptions in the normal activity of various economic facilities,” the official said. EMERCOM's Center for Prevention of Natural Calamities has issued a bulletin on possible emergency situations. Weather forecasters say in the meantime that rainfall in Moscow City and Moscow region may total 20 millimeters to 40 millimeters, which is a half of an average norm for August.
