Storms Kill At Least 16 Near Moscow; 60,000 Evacuated

Eric Chaney
Published: May 30,2017
The death toll in Moscow and its suburbs has risen to at least 16 after strong thunderstorms and high winds buffeted the area on Monday.
"Winds gusted as high as 70 mph during the storm, which is rare for Moscow," said weather.com meteorologist Brian Donegan. "Some hail was also reported along with torrential rain."

Vehicles are covered with a fallen tree following a storm, in a residential area of Moscow, Russia. Thunderstorms and strong winds buffeted Moscow and its surrounding areas on Monday.
(Sergey Vedyashkin/Moscow News Agency photo via AP)

Russian officials told the Associated Press on Tuesday that 11 people in Moscow and five others in the suburbs were killed as high winds and rain ripped through the Russian capital, felling trees and tearing roofs off buildings. Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said 108 people remain in the hospital.
Tourist Frank Davis, from Newfoundland in Canada, was caught in heavy traffic in the city as the "dramatic storm" struck, he told the BBC.
"The sky darkened noticeably and the winds were extremely strong.... with debris flying around from all directions."
According to the AP, more than 200 houses lost roofs, more than 2,000 cars were damaged and around 14,000 trees were downed.
"Many good trees, not old ones, were brought down. We are trying to remove all the trees before night falls," Gulnara Shakirova, a community service assistant told the BBC. "We reacted quickly and are recovering now."
Russian television stations showed metal fences, garages and even a construction crane toppled by winds around the capital, where about 3,500 trees were destroyed, the AP reports. The gusts damaged dozens of cars and disrupted train service and electricity supplies in some areas. Flights at Moscow's airports were delayed. A top emergency official said that 60,000 people in Russia's Stavropol region are being evacuated due to the threat of flooding.
The Moscow mayor, Sergei Sobyanin, expressed condolences for those who died, the Guardian reported. “Several hundred trees were felled,” he wrote on his official Twitter. “We are taking necessary measures to deal with the consequences.”
MORE: Russia Storms — May 29, 2017

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