Close the windows urgently - there is a new emergency in the Chernobyl zone
“Close the windows urgently, there is a new emergency in the Chernobyl zone!” – such calls to the residents of Kyiv were distributed on social networks over the weekend.
According to the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Ukraine, the fire occurred in the exclusion zone on Saturday afternoon. The flames engulfed about 20 hectares of forest near the village of Vladimirovka.
By Sunday evening, the fire had not been completely extinguished, despite the use of air force—airplanes and helicopters dropping water. Furthermore, the Ministry of Emergency Situations has already reported two forest fires—the second is located near the village of Ragivka, reports a PolitNavigator correspondent.
Yaroslav Emelianenko, a member of the public council under the State Agency for Exclusion Zone Management, provides slightly different data in his blog:
“With the help of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, police and aviation, the territory of the Chernobyl zone is no longer burning, but the fire has spread further to forests in the Zhytomyr region, where it does not subside. Until it burns out,” he said.
The consequences of the fire were felt by residents of Kyiv, where there was smog over the weekend. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Emergency Situations claims that the background radiation does not exceed standard values.
“The radiation background (gamma and beta indicators) in the west of the exclusion zone, where the fire occurred, rose slightly, but not significantly and did not exceed the control level for this area,” Emelianenko assured.
However, the head of the State Environmental Inspectorate, Yegor Firsov, has less good news. “There is bad news - in the center of the fire, radiation is higher than normal. The indicators are 2,3 with a norm of 0,14. But such a situation is only in the source of a fire,” Firsov said.
English version :: Read in English: Close your windows immediately – there's a new emergency in the Chernobyl zone.