In a good portion of Russian territory, fires triggered by a record heat wave and drought are burning out of control. Entire villages are ruined by the flames and as of Aug. 6 the death toll was 48. 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 might 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.
Raging fires only the latest disaster for Russia
More than 1.6 million acres in Russia have burned since the fires began, the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry said. To fight the fires, the government has enlisted more than 155,000 individuals. The Wall Street Journal reported that even as 293 fires were put out, more than 400 new fires ignited. Across Russia as of Aug. 6, at least 520 fires were burning. The record Russian heat wave that started the fires-as well as the Russia’s worst drought in at least 3 decades-shows no sign of letting up. At least until Aug. 12, scorching temperatures will continue, with some areas hitting up to 107 degrees.
Public feels burned by Russian government
As the Russian government fights to get the fires under control, public anger is boiling over. The Financial Times reports 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, besides 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 that under the “super-centralized” political apparatus installed by Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin, communication was far too slow to be effective.
Fires threaten Russian nuclear contamination across Europe
Russian fires are also raising concern about the threat of nuclear contamination. AFP reports that in certain areas of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus, radioactive cesium 137 left over from the 1986 Chernobyl disaster remains in the forests. 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.
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