RSOE Emergency and Disaster Information Service

Situation Update No. 1

Posted:2010-03-21, 09:00:09 [UTC]

Ref.no.: SS-20100321-25393-RUS

Situation Update No. 1
On 2010-03-22 at 04:03:43 [UTC]

Event: Snow Storm
Location: Russia Far-East Sakhalinskaya Oblast

A powerful snow cyclone has cut off all sea and air links to Russia’s Far Eastern Sakhalin island. Blizzards and fear of snowslides have also suspended traffic on the island’s roads and rail lines. An armada of snow ploughs and fire trucks is struggling to reach some 60 people who remain trapped in their cars. Reports say winds of up to 29 meters a second have downed power cables. A clean-up cannot begin before Tuesday when the cyclone is expected to have departed towards the Kamchatka Peninsula.