SIMFEROPOL, December 4. /TASS/. Supplies of electrical power and heat have been restored to Crimea after the Black Sea coastal region was walloped by a severe storm a week ago, Crimean Emergencies Minister Sergey Sadakliyev reported on his Telegram channel.
"As of 8:00 a.m. local time (5:00 a.m. GMT), power supply has been fully restored," the official said, citing data from the local grid operator, Krymenergo. Water is being supplied as normal, he added.
According to Sadakliyev, 56 private homes and as many private plots as well as four countryside houses remain flooded. While utilities services have already removed more than 3,100 fallen trees, another 303 have yet to be cleared.
In all, the clean-up effort in the aftermath of the natural disaster has involved some 3,000 people and 350 pieces of equipment.
About 500,000 residents of the Republic of Crimea were left without electricity as hurricane-force winds of up to 40 meters per second hit Russia’s Black Sea coast on the morning of November 27. As many as 445 people, including 69 children, were evacuated from inundated private residences in the first hours after the storm. Preliminary estimates put the damage at 39.7 bln rubles ($438 mln).