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State of emergency declared in Russia’s Far Eastern Primorye Region due to floods

Over 10,000 people are in the emergency zone, according to the governor

VLADIVOSTOK, August 29. /TASS/. Governor of Russia’s Far Eastern Primorye Region, Oleg Kozhemyako, declared a state of emergency across the entire region due to ongoing flooding, a spokesperson for the regional administration told TASS on Thursday.

"Right now, at the session of the emergency situations commission, the governor declared a region-wide state of emergency," the spokesperson said.

More than 10,000 people are currently in the emergency zone, Oleg Kozhemyako told the Rossiya 1 TV channel on Thursday. "Fifteen municipal areas, 43 inhabited communities, more than 10,000 people are currently in the emergency zone. That was why a state of emergency was declared in the Primorye Region," he said.

Kozhemyako explained that the measure helped to tackle emerging problems, such as washed-out roads and equipment supplies, more quickly.

He also noted that the state of emergency in the region would not interfere with the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) scheduled to be held in Vladivostok on September 4-6.

For the past two days, the region was hit by incessant torrential rains, which flooded several streets and triggered a mudslide in the regional capital of Vladivostok. In the Nadezhdinsky District, the territory adjacent to a local airport and several residential buidlings were flooded. Sporadic power outages were also reported. According to the Primorsky Hydrometeorological Center, the amount of rainfall in the region had exceeded the monthly norm three times by Wednesday.