Translated material
Political shake-up
Earthquake in Koryakia could lead to global displacement
At a meeting yesterday with members of the Cabinet of Ministers, Russian President Vladimir Putin instructed the government to provide effective assistance to the residents of Koryakia affected by the devastating earthquake on April 21. Including ensuring their resettlement from the Koryak Autonomous Okrug “at their own request.”The head of state asked First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev “how is the work going to provide assistance in the earthquake zone.” “All instructions have been given, the question of how to carry out restoration is now being decided,” the official replied, saying that work must begin immediately, since winter will soon come in these parts. According to him, in Koryakia it is necessary to help two categories of citizens: those who are engaged in “agricultural trades, reindeer herding—for them, housing must be restored, with improved conditions.” “Another part of the citizens could leave, having in mind the unification of Koryakia and Kamchatka,” believes the first vice-premier. “Only at the request of citizens,” the president said. Mr. Medvedev assured that housing certificates for residents of Koryakia will be valid in those regions that they themselves choose.
“If necessary, the Ministry of Defense must get involved, help the Ministry of Emergency Situations and civil services in order to solve the problems facing the region today,” the president demanded.
Meanwhile, the Olyutorsky district of Koryakia, in whose territory a state of emergency of federal status remains, continues to shake. Yesterday, residents of dilapidated villages felt tremors measuring 4.4 on the Richter scale. As the head of the district administration, Viktor Bondarev, noted, “people are already so accustomed to such disasters that many do not even leave their homes.” More significant ground movements were noted in this territory on the night of April 30. Around six in the morning local time in the villages An earthquake struck with a force of almost 7 points, and exactly three hours later there were two more tremors from 5 to 6 points.
As a result of a repeated strike, the newly repaired power station in the village of Korf was disabled. The recently launched bakery was badly damaged.
New aftershocks complicate recovery efforts. As noted by the Presidential Plenipotentiary Representative in the Far Eastern Federal District, Kamil Iskhakov, traces left by the underground elements are clearly visible on the surface during flights over the affected territory. Wide faults and black silt protruding from the depths cover vast areas of the Olyutorsky region. The plenipotentiary stayed in the disaster zone for about three days. He spent two nights in tent cities set up near the villages of Tilichiki and Khailino.
The plenipotentiary rated the work on restoring utility networks and connecting energy and heat supplies quite highly. In his opinion, both local rescuers and the district administration took all necessary measures in time to provide immediate assistance. People received warm clothes and diesel generators, which allowed them to live in frosty weather for more than a week. The thermometer in Koryakia still drops to minus 20 at night.
Every evening Kamil Iskhakov took part in village meetings, at which he asked local residents to more actively participate in eliminating the consequences of the earthquake. “In Khailino, for example, 201 people work at all support facilities. They themselves work and restore, there are a lot of forces from the Ministry of Emergency Situations, a lot of people from Palana. But there are different people. Every day at 18:00 we held a meeting of residents. I told them yesterday - we really need help, we need workers, we don’t have time, let’s come tomorrow at eight o’clock, we’ll give you shovels, the reaction was not bad, but only three women came in the morning. I don’t blame them, the situation is difficult - I’m scared to go home, because it will definitely shake me, tremors happen every night,” admitted the plenipotentiary.
Now, according to Kamil Iskhakov, in Koryakia the condition of all buildings in the emergency zone is being assessed. The housing stock and administrative buildings in the village of Tilichiki have already been inspected; Khailino is next. True, each new ground vibration increases the destruction of buildings. It is already obvious that out of five schools, four cannot be restored. All kindergartens are completely destroyed. According to the press service of the Department of Civil Defense and Emergency Situations of the Kamchatka Region, in the three villages most affected by the April 21 earthquake (Korf, Tilichiki and Khailino), 401 structures were severely damaged, and almost 80 of them are useless to restore.
Residents of houses destroyed by tremors will soon receive certificates for the purchase of new apartments. The presidential envoy announced this on Monday upon his return from Koryakia to Khabarovsk. On May 5, Kamil Iskhakov will take part in a government meeting on issues related to the earthquake in Koryakia. It will present documents prepared by specialists from various commissions working in the Olyutorsky district. Only after this will a decision be made on the future fate of the affected villages and their residents.
The authorities of the Koryak Autonomous Okrug have already developed the option of building one new village instead of the two most affected. As the district governor Oleg Kozhemyako said, if the federal authorities agree to this plan, it will be necessary to restore the social infrastructure of not two, but one settlement - that is, one hospital, one school, one kindergarten. The issue of creating one village instead of two will be decided at the federal government level.