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Russian Federation (the):Wild Fire:1998/09

Duration	1998/09	Large forest fire broke out in Eastern Russia including Sakhalin iland.The fires burned from mid-May until mid-October.
Country or District	Russian Federation (the)
Name	Wild Fire

Headline(Source, Date)
Personal Injury	Material Damage	Others
OCHA Situation Report No.2 98/10/9
598 people were made homeless in Gorki city.	Up to 80,000 hectares have been damaged by the fires.
OCHA Situiation Report No.1 98/09/29
At least 3 people has been dead. More than 100,000 people might have to be evacuated.		181 fires have been recorded in the Far East Region, covering almost 500,000 hectares.
"Catastrophe" after forest fires in Russian Far East
	Some 800,000 hectares, including 600,000 of forest, in the Ulch region have been destroyed by the fires.	Animals normally living in the forest either perished or fled.
UN calls for aid in fighting Russian forest fires
In Sakhalin, three people have been killed and 800 left homeless.	The fires have already burned some two 2 million hectares.

Specific Matters

OCHA Situation Report No.2 98/10/9 In some areas the trunks are still standing, the roots are often dead because the fire has been burning deep into the soil. OCHA Situation Report No.2 98/10/9 Ecological impacts are likely to be significant also. Up to 50 per cent of ground-nesting birds have been killed by the fires, 10-29 per cent of mammal species in the area have been killed and three Red Data Book species, including two eagle species, have been severely affected.

Related Links

Report/Articles Relief Web OCHA Situation Report No.1 Sep.29 OCHA Situation Report No.2 Oct.09 OCHA Situation Report No.3 Oct.13 Forest fires continue to severely affect large areas of Far Eastern Russia, especially the Khabarovsk region and the island of Sakhalin. OCHA 05 Nov 1998 Forest fires on the Island of Sakhalin and the Khabarovsk Krai - UNDAC Mission report Agence France-Presse (AFP) 25 Nov 1998 The fires burned from mid-May until mid-October, after an unusually dry period. They were extinguished by the first snowfalls. Agence France-Presse (AFP) 21 Oct 1998 Huge forest fires blazing for several months in the Russian Far East will contribute to global warming. Agence France-Presse (AFP) 20 Oct 1998 The United Nations on Tuesday appealed for international aid to combat forest fires ravaging an area in the Russian Far East. Christian Science Monitor 15 Oct 1998 The smoke at Khaborovsk, Russia was so thick that it resembled a heavy fog. Its acrid smell spread to villages more than 1,000 miles away.

Geographycal Data Information

Emergency Relief Information OCHA Situation Report No.1 98/9/29 Donors wishing to channel their contributions through OCHA - Geneva can transfer funds to OCHA account no. CO.590.160.1 at the UBS AG (former Swiss Bank Corporation) Case Postale 2770, CH-1211 Geneva 2, Switzerland, with reference: Russia - Fires. OCHA Situation Report No.1 98/9/29 Initial reports from the region suggest that the lack of aviation fuel and fire-fighting equipment is severely hampering efforts to extinguish the fires. Food for the fire-fighters is also in short supply.

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