Powerful cyclone hit Pacific coast of Russian Far East

The powerful oceanic cyclone which is raging over the Sakhalin island and the South Kuriles (the south-western part of the Sea of Okhotsk) has paralysed air and sea traffic between the continent and the islands.

As the Sakhalin territorial directorate of hydrometeorology and environment monitoring reported, the cyclone was accompanied by wet snow and strong wind gushes which exceeded 25 metres per second.

The airport of the administrative centre of the easternmost insular Region of Russia, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, is closed on Monday because of the strong icing of the runway. It is presumed that the main airport of the insular region may be opened no earlier than on Tuesday night.

The movement of the sea ferry-boats on the Vanino-Kholmsk line is stopped because of the violent gale in the Tatar Strait which separates Sakhalin from the continent.

According to the weather-forecasters, the cyclone, having hit the whole Sakhalin and South Kuriles, is rapidly moving towards North Kuriles and Kamchatka.