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Far East’s 2013 flood cleanup to cost 40 billion roubles to Russian budget

Restoration of Russian far eastern regions after the emergency situation in 2013 has already required 30 billion roubles

© ITAR-TASS/ Sergei Bobylev

KHABAROVSK, May 20 /ITAR-TASS/. Restoration of Russian far eastern regions after the emergency situation in 2013 has already required 30 billion roubles (around $863.5 million) from federal budget with total spending exceeding 40 billion roubles (around $1.1 billion), Russian Presidential Representative in the Far Eastern Federal District Yuri Trutnev said at a meeting of the governmental committee cleaning up aftermath of a devastating flood in the country’s Far East.

The Ministry of Natural Resources will present Tuesday a plan for prevention of floods in the future.

High on the agenda of the meeting in Khabarovsk is progress of repair and housing construction for people affected in the flood, compensations to agrarian producers and privileged tariffs for railway cargo traffic.

A major flood has occurred in the Far East in August 2013 due to heavy rain. Amur Region, the Jewish Autonomous Region and Khabarovsk Territory were the hardest hits in the natural disaster. More than 180 thousand people were affected, more than 12 thousand houses, 1.6 thousand kilometres of motor roads, 825 socially important facilities were damaged in the inundation. More than 32 thousand local residents were evacuated. Flood-hit regions were given aid worth 40 billion roubles.

As many as 3,568 families in the Far East need new housing, 454 from 1,770 residential houses are already found unsuitable for living, Trutnev said. New housing will be built for 2,008 families. Housing will be bought for 1,560 families. The deadline for the end of overhaul in damaged residential houses is the end of August.

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