Kemerovo governor imposes emergency regime following recent quake

Kemerovo regional governor Aman Tuleyev has imposed an emergency regime in the region on Wednesday following the recent quake, the press service of the regional administration said on Wednesday. The Kemerovo brunch of the Emergency Situations Ministry (EMERCOM) will move its main forces to the area of the Belovsky region, where the Siberian regional EMERCOM department will send its helicopter. The nearest to the quake epicenter coal reserve Batchatsky has suspended coal production pending conclusion of a state commission due to arrive from Moscow. Earlier, all explosive operations had been suspended at all coal reserves for three days. There is no coal production at coal mines which are being inspected by experts of the Federal Service for Supervision of the Environment and Technology ( Rostekhnadzor) and the mountain rescue service. The regional governor has ordered the administration of the Belovsky region to organize the evacuation of badly ill people from settlements close to the zone of earth tremors and accommodate them at medical establishments elsewhere in the Kemerovo region. A series of earth tremors were registered in the Belovsky district and the Salairsky Kryazh area at 3.03 am Moscow time Wednesday. The tremors also spread to the Novosibirsk and the Altai region. Since 6.00 am five incidents of the seismological phenomenon with the magnitude of around 4.3 points were registered in Kuzbass. The regional authorities will render all the necessary financial assistance to Kuzbass residents whose houses or yard constructions were damaged by the quake. Experts of the Geophysical Service of the Siberian branch of the Academy of Sciences will bring seven seismological registers to the area where the quake epicenter was presumably located.