The consequences of a powerful hurricane for the harvest are revealed: how the cataclysm affected the famous apples and strawberries of southern Russia

Aftermath of the storm on the Evpatoria embankment, Crimea. Photo: Sergey Malgavko/TASS

In Crimea, no serious damage to agriculture has been reported, there will be no problems with the harvest of apples and grapes, or with the supply of strawberries to residents of Crimea and other regions of Russia due to the last hurricane. The Minister of Agriculture of the Republic of Crimea, Andrei Savchuk, spoke about this in an exclusive interview with Komsomolskaya Pravda.

“Yes, small farms, barns, greenhouses have been opened, roofs have been partially torn off, there is no definitive information yet, but at the moment no serious damage has been observed,” said Andrei Savchuk. “It so happened that the previous strong hurricane knocked down all the emergency trees, and the recent hurricane, although more powerful, did not cause such a serious loss of trees; agricultural producers were able to prepare for it.

– And the upper, fertile layer of the soil was not damaged, was it not blown away by the wind?

– No, the ground was wet, so this didn’t happen.

– That is, the past disaster will not affect the harvest in any way? Apples, the famous Crimean strawberries…

– No, we do not see any threat to the harvest. We have already planted barley and wheat, they are in the growth phase and have not suffered, there is no demolition of land or any other damage. Our main assets are the vineyards and apple trees. There is no comment on them. This will not affect the strawberry harvest, there will be no interruptions, at least due to the consequences of this hurricane.

– What about fishing? Probably some ships were trapped at sea by a storm, what happened to them, what happened to the people?

– The most affected sector in the agricultural sector is the fishing sector. This is because the main production and fishing instruments were located in the sea and coastal areas, that is, the areas most susceptible to the effects of a hurricane. Unfortunately, not all of them were preserved. Some mullet farms and seine nets (coastal fishing gear, sometimes installed far from the coast – Ed.) were destroyed. The situation is still unclear as to the amount of destruction and to what extent. Also for the fishing fleet. But according to preliminary information, there have been no accidents or victims in the agricultural sector.