The rescue services of Chechnya are taking extra measures due to the high temperatures in the region, reaching 40 C, the official spokesman of the local Emergencies Ministry department Timur Taymusov said, RIA Novosti reports.
They organized search and rescue groups in bodies of water. One woman died of heat. Chechnya has no properly equipped swimming places. The Chernorechenskoye water reservoir in Grozny and the Chervlenskoye Lake and pond in the suburbs of Grozny have lifeboats and divers to rescue people.
9 people have already died in the swimming season this year, 3 of them children. 10 others have been rescued.
Chechen medics have reported a rising number of people asking for medical help recently due to the high temperatures. According to the chief doctor of the ambulance service, Kazbek Mezhidov, the number of ambulance call-outs increased by a quarter, with an increase in people suffering cardiovascular and hypertension problems.
Medics are recommending people to stay indoors, especially between 2 and 3 in the afternoon, and to wear headwear, light clothes and drink plenty of fluids.
The emergency services fear that the heat may lead to fires in the north of Chechnya.
