Melt into the snow: how Russians are coping with the effects of the cyclone
In Russia, there has been a sharp surge in interest in the services of private snow blowers — the demand for this service has more than doubled, Izvestia found out. Residents of the capital region began to rent special equipment en masse, and sales of inventory jumped on marketplaces: from manual scrapers to self-propelled vehicles. The excitement is caused by the critical situation with precipitation: it is necessary to remove them not only from roads and sidewalks. According to the Ministry of Emergency Situations, since the beginning of the year, there have already been more than 120 incidents related to roof collapse and ice, with half of the cases recorded in the last week. For more information, see the Izvestia article.
The demand for snow removal services has increased
The number of vacancies for snow blowers in Russia has increased by 54% since the beginning of the year, and the number of responses from applicants has soared by 116%, Sergey Yaskin, director of the Avito Part-time Job service, told Izvestia.
— In Moscow and the Moscow region, a part—time job as a snow cleaner was offered 2.3 times and 1.8 times more often, respectively, - said Sergey Yaskin. — Among the federal districts, the number of offers has increased significantly in the Central District — by 92%, the Volga Region — by 60%, and the Siberian Region — by 45%.
In the specialist search service "Profi.<url>" noticed that from February 16 to February 20 in Moscow and the Moscow region, compared with the previous week, the demand for snow removal increased by 146%, for its removal by 180% and for manual snow removal by 121%.
At the same time, multiple growth is recorded in the online retail segment. The Wildberries & Russ press service noted that sales of scrapers in Moscow increased by 60%. At the same time, demand for conventional shovels has stabilized, as the bulk of purchases occurred in January, when the figures exceeded the values of "snowless" January 2025 by thousands of percent.
In recent days, demand for tractor rentals in Moscow has increased 2.5 times compared to the quiet period in mid-February, Avito Spetstekhnika told Izvestia. According to the company, demand for tractors in the Moscow region has increased 2.2 times, and an hour of heavy machinery operation costs an average of 3,000 rubles. Over the past few days, tractors have also become more common to rent in the Voronezh, Tula, Yaroslavl and Ryazan regions.
Who should clean the snow
The owner of the building is responsible for clearing snow from the roofs, Svetlana Razvorotneva, deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on Construction and Housing, explained to Izvestia. But in some cases, it is assigned to the management of institutions. For example, in a school, the principal is responsible for clearing snow from the roof.
"There are fines, but not for not cleaning the roof, but for the consequences that have occurred," the expert pointed out.
According to her, if property is damaged or human health is harmed as a result of a roof collapse in an apartment building, the management company may be stripped of its license through the courts. The same standards of responsibility, from administrative to criminal, apply to all home owners.
Now it costs an average of 5,000 rubles to hire a specialist to clear snow on a site, Konstantin Krokhin, chairman of the Union of Housing Organizations in Moscow and a specialist in public utilities, told Izvestia. But snow removal from the roof will cost much more.
— Climbers have risen in price, previously their services cost 7-8 thousand rubles, and now it's 25 thousand. Because these are qualified specialists who have access to work at height," the expert explained. — Nothing needs to be cleaned on the roof itself, only on the edges. Overhangs form on them — snow or ice. The climber knocks them down.
At the same time, hiring a person without a permit and the necessary equipment is fraught with problems, Konstantin Krokhin noted. If such a specialist falls from a height, then the employer who did not provide him with safe working conditions will be to blame. The climber must have an ID card and equipment that has been checked.
— In accordance with the rules of landscaping and maintenance of the adjacent territory, if the height of the snow cover is more than 5 cm, then the management organizations should start clearing snow from the sidewalks. In the first six hours after the end of the snowfall, all approaches must be cleared: paths, sidewalks to residential, social and educational facilities," Konstantin Krokhin explained.
In the first 16 hours, which count from the moment of the end of the snowfall, all entrances to buildings must be cleared.
— If the snowfall lasts for a long time, more than one day, then the duties of the management organization include cleaning paths and sidewalks from snow three times a day. If the snow cover is up to 5 cm, then you don't have to clean it — it's not necessary to clean sidewalks and paths before asphalt in winter," the expert said.
These rules apply only to cities, but not to rural areas. Moreover, municipalities may have different rules, as, for example, in the regions of the Far North. During the winter, a lot of snow accumulates there, it is not removed, but only raked away, which causes snow walls to appear five to six meters high.
Roofs collapsed in the regions
In Moscow, since the beginning of January, all city services, including utilities and engineering, have been involved in the aftermath, Sergei Sobyanin said yesterday.
Since the beginning of the year, the Ministry of Emergency Situations has recorded more than 120 roof collapses and the involuntary descent of snow and ice from a height due to weather conditions. About 60 cases have occurred in the last week, the press service of the department reported.
— Incidents were recorded at industrial facilities, in housing, as well as at social and cultural infrastructure facilities, including schools, sports facilities and apartment buildings. The largest number of cases was registered in the Central and Volga Federal Districts," said Evgeny Kiryushkin, senior operational duty officer at the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations.
The Ministry of Emergency Situations warned that warming, precipitation, and then cooling are expected in the second decade of February.
"Under such conditions, the snow will saturate with moisture and create a dangerous load on the structures," the agency said in a statement.
On February 19, the roof of one of the workshops of the Motorinvest company collapsed, the governor of the Lipetsk region, Igor Artamonov, said on social networks. Rescuers pulled eight people out from under the rubble, they were hospitalized, four are in serious condition.
"According to preliminary information, the cause of the collapse was the accumulation of snow on the roof of the workshop," the governor said.
On the same day, a similar situation occurred in a store in Rybinsk, Yaroslavl region, Mayor Dmitry Rudakov said on social media.
"We have been warned many times that we need to clean the roofs, but not everyone reacts, and this is the result," he wrote. — The price of falling snow and ice is not a fine, but the health and lives of people. After today's snowfall, the roofs need to be cleared as quickly as possible."
In addition, the roof of a warehouse collapsed twice under the weight of snow in Podolsk, the Moscow Regional Fire and Rescue Service said.
The roof also collapsed in apartment buildings in Shchekino, Tula region, and in Staritsa, Tver region, in a curling center under construction in Murom, Vladimir region. And on February 20— in an uninhabited house, an object of cultural heritage of regional significance in Tambov.
Residents of different regions of Russia are posting photos and videos of the destruction that occurred during the week on social media. Owners of private homes regret that they have installed snow holders — this is a structure that prevents snow from falling off the roof. According to them, because of these devices, precipitation remains on the roof, so the owners have to additionally order its cleaning.
"I installed snow holders for 200 thousand rubles. <...> All the snow is lying and waiting for me to pay 30 thousand rubles to be swept away," said one of the users of social networks.
Social media also notes that in some cases, after cleaning the roof, the roof has to be repaired, so they often wait for the snow to melt on its own.
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