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About 280 emergencies occur in Russia annually

MOSCOW, April 21, ITAR-TASS/. About 280 serious emergencies occur in Russia annually, Emergencies Minister Vladimir Puchkov said on Monday, April 21.

“More than 160 serious industrial accidents and about 120 major natural disasters as well as up to 170,000 man-made fires occur every year on the average,” Puchkov said.

He spoke of the emergence of new threats and challenges. “The modern world is changing and evolving rapidly. New contradictions between people, nature and resources develop. Dangers and threats are comprehensive in nature. The scale of emergency situations and fires is growing. New risks are emerging,” he said.

Last year saw a number of unique emergency situations in Russia such as a meteor rain in Chelyabinsk, a tornado in the Tula region and a large flood in the Far East. However, “not even one person died in the Far East and damage was minimised”, Puchkov said.

Among the factors of risk in the 21st century he named “globalisation of the economy, ethnic and religious contradictions, accelerated progress of science and technology, the development of northern territories and the World Ocean, climate changes, more active volcanic processes, and asteroid and space threats”.

Last year, more than 289,000 people died as a result of emergencies, fires, accidents and disasters. The number of emergencies last year decreased by 24 percent from 2012 and the number of fatalities in them dropped by 25 percent. A total of 631 persons died in 332 emergencies registered in 2013.