OREANDA-NEWS  A gale-force wind has de-energized part of the city of Severo-Kurilsk on Paramushir Island (Northern Kuril Islands, Sakhalin Region), large-scale work is underway to restore electricity supply, the press service of the regional government reported on Thursday.

"On Wednesday, April 8, Severo-Kurilsk was affected by a strong cyclone. A sharp deterioration in the weather was accompanied by a squally wind, which reached 58 meters per second in the evening. Due to power line breaks, a significant part of the city was de-energized," the report says.

According to the press service, roofs and facades of buildings were also damaged, power poles and road signs were knocked down.

As soon as the weather conditions allowed, on Thursday morning, the municipal administration assessed the scale of the damage and the priority tasks for eliminating the consequences of the disaster. As a matter of priority, the power supply to the school and kindergarten was restored. Currently, emergency crews are continuously working on the city's power grids.

"The weather conditions have stabilized, which allows the specialists to act with full force. Electricity supply to residential buildings in Severo-Kurilsk will be resumed in the near future," the press service notes. The situation is under the control of the Sakhalin Oblast Government.

Severo-Kurilsk is the regional center of the district of the same name and the only settlement in the Northern Kuril Islands. It is home to more than 2.3 thousand people. The city is located more than 300 km from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky and more than 1,000 km from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. Severo-Kurilsk is connected to the mainland of the Russian Federation through regular sea and helicopter flights from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.