Russia: Hurricane in Moscow kills 16, injures 168 others

Hurricane damage at Alexander Golod's pyramid in Istrinsky District, Moscow (CNN)

May 30, 2017: At least 16 people died and 168 others injured in a hurricane that hit Russia’s capital Moscow and the adjacent areas.

"Eleven people died in Moscow and five others in the suburbs were killed as high winds and rain ripped through the city on Monday, felling trees, tearing off roofs and damaging more than 2,000 cars," CNN reported quoting the Investigative Committee.

Storm left around 7,300 people across the Moscow region without electricity.

According to the CNN meteorologist Taylor Ward, most of the damage appeared to come from strong straight-line winds, with gusts measuring 101 kph (63 mph).

"The Moscow Meteorological referred to the storm as a hurricane and said the winds were the strongest ever recorded in the capital," Aljazeera has written.

In 1998, a strong wind storm hit Moscow, killing as many as 11 people and injured 165 others. According to the Interfax News Agency, the total damage done by the natural calamity that hit Moscow in the early hours of June 21, 1998 was estimated at some one billion rubles.