MOSCOW, Aug. 2 (UPI) -- A $166 million cost in damages from deadly forest fires, burning as a heat wave grips Russia, is likely to increase, Russian Deputy Minister Alexi Kudrin said.
Kudrin, also the finance minister, said the Russian government plans to compensate people affected by the forest fires and support regions hit by a persistent drought, Russia's business wire Prime-Tass reported Monday. He also said the government would refinance agricultural loans, reduce loan rates and extend loans.
At least 34 people have been killed in forest fires raging in Russia's Central and Volga federal districts, said Vladimir Stepanov of the Emergency Situations Ministry.
The $166 million is the amount Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin authorized to be use for housing construction, compensation for people affected by the fires and payment to the families of people who were killed,
the news agency said.
As of Sunday, the wildfires had destroyed at least 2,210 homes, The Moscow Times reported. More than 5,200 people had been evacuated.
A state of emergency has been declared for 14 regions affected by weeks of record heat and drought in central Russia, officials said.
