Storm warning issued in Kamchatka, elementary schools closed.

PETROPAVLOVSK-KAMCHATSTKY, March 17 (Itar-Tass) - Warning on an
approaching cyclone has been issued in the Kamchatka Peninsula.
Authorities in the regional capital Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky have
cancelled classes at elementary schools, telling children to stay at home.
Experts at the Kamchatka Hydrometeorology Center said the atmospheric
vortex has begun to exert impact on the southern parts of the peninsula.
The focus of the cyclone is currently located near Cape Lopatka in the
extreme south of the peninsula where the gale is reaching 30 to 36 meters
per second.
The cyclone is gradually drifting northwards and it is expected to
unleash blizzards in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, the Yelizovo and
Ust-Bolsheretsk districts.
The winds will pick up speed there to blow at around 22 meters per
second.
Storm is expected in the Sea of Okhotsk and the Pacific Ocean.
Appropriate warnings have been issued to all the ships and seacraft
cruising there.
Forecasters say the weather will likely improve March 19.
For the time being, however, the weather has not affected the usual
work of transport systems in the region.
Kamchatka's main airport at Yelizovo is servicing all the scheduled
flights and no disruptions in the performance of supporting systems at
population centers have been registered.
-0-kle