Prime Minister Vladimir Putin instructed the governors to take measures in view of the powerful cyclone approaching the European part of Russia.
A cold front with hail and thundershowers is replacing abnormal heat in Moscow. Squall wind has already cut off electricity in 1,500 inhabited localities, toppled trees, and stopped the movement of trains and cars.
On that day, Vladimir Putin instructed the members of the government commission on preventing and eliminating emergencies to take all necessary measures in view of the frontal passage in the Northwest, Central, and Volga federal districts.
"Instructions have been given to restore electricity in the Northwest Federal District and to secure the uninterrupted operation of medical and social institutions," the government's press service reported.
The Emergencies Ministry was instructed to set up an emergency operations headquarters that will operate round the clock. They must be established both in the regions that have already been damaged by the storm front and those that are expecting it – the Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod, Ivanovo, and Vladimir regions.
The prime minister contacted a number of governors and discussed the situation. The heads of the Energy Ministry, Ministry of Healthcare and Social Development, Ministry of Communications, and Ministry of Transportation reported to Putin on the measures they took to eliminate the consequences of the frontal passage.
By Yelena Chinkova