Dystopian scene: Viral video shows Murmansk plunged into darkness
The city was plunged into darkness after power lines collapsed.
On the evening of January 23, a massive power outage hit Murmansk and Severomorsk. The cause was the collapse of power line supports. The accident left residents without heat and light, and streets were deprived of lighting. A video of the dark, half-empty city quickly went viral online and sparked active discussion among Russians. We are publishing some of the comments.
— You know, my first thought was about mothers with small children, having to make formula and so on, and then about people at home on medical devices.
— I visited Murmansk in transit a couple of years ago. The feeling was like stepping back into a forgotten past. I told people I saw the streetlights of my childhood, like from the 70s–80s. And now, I«m not surprised at all.
— This is actually complete lawlessness. The city is on a peninsula, which should have some backup power sources. And this is all happening in the age of high technology. I feel sorry for ordinary people. The supports have been standing for 60 years, and it«s like this everywhere. Not just in this sector. Water supply is the same story.
— Guys, it«s not just you with bad energy issues. In 2020, on the other side of the country in Vladivostok, I lived for a week without power with a two-month-old baby. We were lucky to at least have heating and hot water. Many had nothing at all. A power line also fell due to a cyclone, and it took a week to restore. I bought a gas stove. The baby was on formula, so we constantly needed boiling water, and we cooked on gas too. I charged my phone at the nearest mall that was running on a generator. In the evenings, we sat by candlelight, I even burned all the decorative candles at home that I thought I»d never light. It was okay, we got through it, we adapted.
— Officially they talk about icing, but icing is not an unpredictable accident; it«s a normal winter load for our region, and the infrastructure must be ready for it. I demand public answers: when was the last inspection of the supports, what defects were identified, who signed the reports, what emergency measures and reserves are in place, why did the failure affect critically important life support systems?
— We«re in the Leninsky District, it»s pitch-black horror. They«re turning power on and off to houses in turn, at least publish a schedule, administration, hello?!
— In such emergencies, there should be backup generators. Life cannot stop. How many people were affected?! It«s pure negligence, the guilty must be punished.
— How is this possible in the modern world? Hang in there, I know firsthand what it«s like to sit without electricity in winter. When you get power for two or three hours a day and there»s no heating, and it lasts for weeks. That«s exactly how it was in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky in the late 90s.
Recall that a state of emergency was declared in the Murmansk region. Full restoration of power after the accident may take at least a week. The Murmansk Regional Prosecutor«s Office has already launched an investigation into the mass power outages. A criminal case has been initiated. It was revealed that the fallen power line supports had been in service for almost 60 years.
Read about how northerners are coping with difficulties as they enter their third day without power. Also, 51.RU journalists visited the Leninsky District of Murmansk to see how people are enduring the consequences of the power grid failure.
We also reported on how the arctic city of Murmansk suddenly went dark and when power might be restored. We are publishing all important and current information about the power outage in our online broadcast.
