KHABAROVSK. Dec 27 (Interfax-AVN) - Three hundred man-made and natural disasters have affected over 122,000 people in the Russian Far East this year, Lieutenant General Gennady Korotkin, head of the Emergencies Ministry Far Eastern regional center, said on Thursday.
As many as 129 people have died as a result of the disasters, Korotkin told Interfax-Military News Agency. The damages to the Far Eastern economy are estimated at RUB10bn (USD328.14m).
Korotkin said 19 search and rescue services had been set up in the Far East in 2001. The region's rescuers have carried out 1,072 operations, providing assistance to over 5,000 people.