The escalation of fires in Russia is already threatening the Federal Nuclear Center in the city of Sarov in the west of the country, a state of emergency has been declared in the city, DPA reports citing the city authorities.
According to them, in connection with the spread of fires in the Nizhny Novgorod region, it is necessary to increase the level of security, which will facilitate the mobilization of additional fire forces.
However, this is just one of the fires in Russia. The Siberian Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) was particularly hard hit by the fire. Dozens of houses were destroyed, residents were evacuated to safe places. Russian television showed footage of smoke-shrouded settlements in the Irkutsk region and the Krasnoyarsk Territory.
According to official figures, 3.5 million hectares are currently burning in Russia, roughly equivalent to the area of Serbia and Montenegro combined. Climatologists and experts from Greenpeace say that these are the biggest fires in Russia.
At the other end of the country, in the Amur region bordering China, rescue teams are battling floods after torrential rains. In the regions, there are about 80 km of streets in settlements and six bridges are under water, and 24 municipalities along the Amur River are cut off from the world.