MOSCOW (Sputnik) – About 800,000 people are involved in the second stage of the nation-wide command drills of the Russian Emergencies Ministry, a ministry spokesperson told Sputnik.
"In the course of the exercises, it is planned to conduct engineering work to protect settlements from [flood] waters, clear river beds, blow up ice to prevent ice blockages and other measures to ensure trouble-free passage of flood waters," the spokesperson said.
The evacuation of local residents is planned is some parts of Russia as part of the drills.
The large-scale Russian Emergencies Ministry exercises started in all 85 regions of the country on Wednesday and will wrap up on Friday, April 21.
