Second railway man found dead under avalanche in Sakhalin.

MOSCOW, January 5 (Itar-Tass) -- The second lost railway man was found dead under the avalanche, which rolled down on the railway in Sakhalin overnight to January 1.

The avalanche entrapped three men, one of them managed to get out of the snowdrift, the other two railway men were not found on the first day of 2010. Railway man Alexander Sangi was found dead on Sunday, another railway man was found dead on Monday.

His name was not
reported, but according to available reports, Alexander Shevchenko was on
the missing list.
The second railway man was found dead at 07.10 p.m. local time (00.10
p.m. Moscow time) on Monday, the press service of the main EMERCOM
department in the Sakhalin region said.
Three avalanches with the volume of 10,000 cubic meters went down on
the Zaozernaya-Pugachevo railway section on the first day of the 2010 year
in Sakhalin. The avalanches derailed a snow remover and covered 300 meters
of the railway. The snowdrifts on the railway reached three meters. A
strong snow cyclone, which had embraced Sakhalin on the New Year eve,
triggered the avalanches. The snow cyclone subsided, but the weathermen
forecast the next cyclone coming to the island on January 6-7. The
avalanche alarm was announced again in the Sakhalin region.

.Kazan emergency services fail to clean up city timely from snow.

KAZAN, January 5 (Itar-Tass) -- The Kazan emergency services fail to
clean up the city timely from heavy snowfalls. According to the
weathermen, a month and a half norm of snow has fallen down in the city
for the last three days, the press service of the Kazan mayor's office
told Itar-Tass. The emergency plan codenamed Buran was announced in the
city. Along with the emergency services employees of enterprises and
organizations were involved in the cleanup of highways, squares and
walkways. Over 800 vehicles, 120 pieces of special machinery and 1,800
people are involved in the cleanup operation. The city public transport
operates uninterruptedly.
About 20,000 tonnes of snow are brought daily to snow melting chambers
and snow dumping sites.
Big snowdrifts are still piled along the walkways and in the yards.
The roofs are being cleaned up from snow and ice.
However, Tatarstan's Agriculture Ministry was satisfied with heavy
snowfalls. The snow covered the fields up to 30 centimeters deep that
preserves the winter crops well.

.Medvedev nominates Berdnikov for Altai president.

MOSCOW, January 5 (Itar-Tass) -- Russian President Dmitry Medvedev
nominated Alexander Vasilyevich Berdnikov as an Altai presidential
candidate for the voting at the State Assembly - El Kurultai of the
Russian Republic of Altai.
The president nominated Berdnikov under Article 18 of the federal law
on the general principles of organization of legislative and executive
bodies of state power in constituent territories of the Russian Federation
and under Article 261 of the federal law on political parties, the Kremlin
press service reported on Monday.

.Trans-Caucasus highway to be closed at least until Tue morning.

VLADIKAVKAZ, January 5 (Itar-Tass) -- The Trans-Caucasus highway,
which connects Russia and South Ossetia, will be closed over continuous
snowfalls at least until Tuesday morning. The snow is about 60 centimeters
deep on the highway, the North Ossetian Emergency Situations Ministry told
Itar-Tass.
The North Ossetian Emergency Situations Ministry does not make any
forecasts when the traffic on the vital highway will resume.
"Due to the zero visibility the anti-avalanche service cannot trigger
avalanches so that the roadmen would be able to clean up the
Trans-Caucasus highway without any risks. According to the specific noise
small avalanches keep falling down on the highway. One of the latest
avalanches went down on the highway section between the border checkpoint
Nizhny Zaramag and the northern portal of the Roki tunnel," press
secretary of the North Ossetian Emergency Situations Ministry Yulia
Starchenko told Itar-Tass.
A massive avalanche of about 1,500 cubic meters of snow went down at
the highland settlement of Buron on Monday noon. The bad visibility makes
it impossible to estimate the total volume of avalanches. Residents of
North Ossetia and South Ossetia are recommended to refrain from trips
along the Trans-Caucasus highway until the weather improves. The Emergency
Situations Ministry opened an emergency camp in Buron, where the
snow-entrapped people can drink a hot tea and are provided with shelter
from biting frosts.
The North Ossetian Emergency Situations Ministry urged drivers to
travel from North Ossetia to South Ossetia and in the opposite direction,
because that will create major difficulties for rescuers and can be
dangerous for drivers. The weathermen forecast worsening weather in the
highlands.
"The snow is 70 centimeters deep in the vicinity of the Roki tunnel on
the Trans-Caucasus highway, several avalanches went down. The visibility
is very bad, however the roadmen are cleaning up the highway. The wet snow
is going on, the avalanche hazard persists, the highway is closed until
the special instructions," chief press officer of the South Ossetian
Emergency Situations Ministry Alla Zasseyeva said.
The Trans-Caucasus highway is the only highway connecting South
Ossetia with Russia. Under the instructions given by South Ossetian
President Eduard Kokoity, the forces of the Emergency Situations Ministry
and the Interior Ministry have created the operative headquarters at the
southern portal of the Roki tunnel for the whole winter period to ensure
security on the Trans-Caucasus highway.
-0-baz