MOSCOW (Reuters) -Three people were killed as hurricanes with winds reaching 38 metres per second hit several regions in Russia’s Siberia on Sunday.
A fallen tree crushed two people to death in their car, in the Russian city of Novokuznetsk, TASS news agency quoted a regional official. The third victim was killed in Altai Krai, the regional emergencies ministry said in a statement, adding three people were hurt.
Sergei Kuznetsov, the head of Novokuznetsk, said an emergency had been declared in the city after strong winds damaged electricity lines and buildings, adding that local schools and kindergartens would not open on Monday. The neighbouring city of Prokopievsk also entered a state of emergency, its head said.
A large sign fell on a woman near a shopping centre in Novokuznetsk, a video on social media showed. According to a local official, cited by RIA Novosti, the woman was hospitalised. Kuznetsov said six people in total were injured in the city.
Russian media said winds caused damage in Kemerovo, Krasnoyarsk, Novosibirsk and Omsk regions, Altai Krai, Republic of Altai, Republic of Khakasia.
A Siberian branch of power company Rosseti said 294 settlements in Siberia had been left without electricity as of 12:30 GMT.
(Reporting by Reuters; editing by Guy Faulconbridge and Barbara Lewis)