Radiy Khabirov following multiple deaths of people in traffic accidents suggested “putting republic on alert”

UFA, 19 November 2018. /Bashinform News Agency/ translated by Tatiana Aksyutina/. On November 19, the Acting Head of Bashkortostan Radiy Khabirov began a briefing session of the republican Government with a report of the Chairman of the State Committee on Transport and Road Facilities. Timur Mukhametyanov reported that over the past week (November 12-18, 2018), 14 people were killed in car accidents on the roads of the regions, 87 were injured.

“Due to the sharp deterioration of weather conditions, ice-slick, and freezing rain, the number of accidents has increased. On November 17, eight people died on the roads of the republic”, reported Timur Mukhametyanov.

The head of Bashkiria also asked the representatives of the Bashkir Met Office to explain whether it was possible to warn the residents of the republic in advance about the approaching icy rain and avoid so many victims.

“This is a phenomenon that is difficult to predict. We can see it only after it actually happens,” the forecaster noted at the briefing session. “The only thing I can say is that the phenomenon we observed on Saturday was widespread, but it didn’t reach more than 5 mm of accumulated precipitation so we didn’t announce a “storm warning” and didn’t use the warning system to the maximum”.

Radiy Khabirov asked to revise the parameters of the warning announcement and said that "it is better to put the republic on the alert than to collect eight corpses afterward".

On November 17, the Acting Head of the region instructed the staff of the Emergencies Ministry and the traffic police to restrict traffic due to adverse weather conditions.