The roofs of buildings in its far east have killed two people, authorities said Thursday, declaring a state of emergency as a massive snowstorm hit the region.
Images showed huge piles of snow reaching up to the second floor of buildings and people digging to clear roads as snow covered cars on both sides.
📍Kamchatka/RUSYA ❄️
— HavaCity (@havacity_)
Although heavy snowfall is not unusual in Kamchatka, a peninsula in Russia’s far east that stretches towards Japan, the unusual intensity of the blizzard has caused partial paralysis in the region’s largest city.
“I was advised to declare the situation, which resulted in avalanches from roofs resulting in two deaths, as a local emergency. I made this decision,” the mayor of the Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky regional capital, Yevgeny Belyaev, said on Telegram.
Schools have closed and businesses have switched to telecommuting.
❄️🇷🇺 That’s Kamchatka vibe
— Lord Bebo (@MyLordBebo)
Local media Kamchatka-Inform reported that residents of the town complained that shops had run out of bread, eggs and milk.
“The difficulties that arise are purely of an accounting nature and are due to travel restrictions. Deliveries are gradually resuming as the roads are cleared,” the head of the regional government, Yulia Morozova, was quoted as saying by another local website, Kamchatka Media.
Authorities blamed housing management companies for the delay in removing snow and ice from roofs, saying it caused the deaths.
INSANE snow in Kamchatka, Russia at the moment 👀
— Volcaholic 🌋 (@volcaholic1)
