Khaberni - The Russian Kamchatka Peninsula witnessed an unprecedented winter storm, which caused record snowfall that covered entire cities and buried residential buildings up to the fourth floor, in shocking scenes captured in widely circulated videos on social media.
According to "The Moscow Times", the fierce storm resulted in near-total paralysis of transportation, closing of schools, and suspension of public transport in the city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, alongside recording fatalities due to snow avalanches from building roofs.
Reports confirmed the death of two individuals in the city after being trapped by falling ice blocks from the roofs, which led to their demise. This prompted the city mayor Evgeny Beliayev to declare a general state of emergency, aiming to mobilize additional resources to expedite snow removal operations and respond to emergencies.
Mayor Beliayev sharply criticized property management companies, accusing them of negligence in cleaning the roofs in a timely manner, and waiting for the storm to end instead of taking urgent preventive measures.
Videos circulating online showed children sliding over huge snow hills within the city, while other footage revealed residential buildings completely submerged in snow up to the fourth floor, illustrating the severity of the storm that hit the area.
Meanwhile, the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations posted footage of rescue teams digging through dense snow piles to reach elderly individuals trapped inside their homes, amidst ongoing snowfall for several consecutive days.
In a related context, the Minister of Emergency Situations in Kamchatka, Sergey Lebedev, announced the death of a 63-year-old man who was buried under falling snow from the roof of a single-story house, noting that attempts to rescue him were unsuccessful.
Lebedev warned residents about the dangers of large snow accumulations on building roofs, pointing out that rising temperatures contributed to the sliding and sudden fall of snow, stating: "I urge everyone to be cautious of the massive piles of snow formed on the roofs during the hurricane, as with rising temperatures, the snow began to slide and fall."
The Russian authorities continue their efforts to control the aftermath of the storm, amid warnings about continued risks as weather conditions change.
