According to radio media reports, dozen people were killed and over 120 injured as severe storms swept through Moscow and Moscow oblast yesterday.
RT news agency says that according to a report by the All-Russian Center of Disaster Medicine, twelve people were killed and at least 125 injured in Moscow and the Moscow oblast, including 17 children, as result of Monday’s storm.
The storm reportedly uprooted trees and tore the roofs off buildings. Hundreds of trees were toppled by the storm, and more than 50 people sought medical help.
Reports say that electrical cables were damaged as Moscow was lashed with high winds, hail and torrential rain.
The winds of up to 110 km/h were described by meteorologists as extremely rare for the city, and caused structural damage to buildings. Cars were crushed and roads blocked by trees brought down by the storm.
It is reportedly the deadliest storm in the city for more than 100 years.
The death toll was the highest due to storms in the capital in a single day for almost 20 years. Between eight and 11 people died in storm in Moscow in 1998.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said the storm has destroyed hundreds of trees in the Russian capital. The winds also disrupted train service and delayed dozens of flights at Moscow’s airports.
“The hurricane was unprecedented for Moscow,” TASS news agency quoted the mayor as saying.
Russian media say scores of people have also been injured around Moscow.
A top emergency official also said that 60,000 people in Russia’s Stavropol region are being evacuated due to the threat of flooding.
