From Lenta.ru:
Chelyabinsk residents have broken windows in their homes hoping to get compensation
Some residents of the Chelyabinsk Oblast who live near to the sites where the meteorite hit have started to break the windows of their flats themselves, hoping to receive compensation, reports RIA Novosti, according to a source in law enforcement.
As previously reported, the windows of hundreds of buildings have been broken as a result of a meteorite in the Chelyabinsk Oblast. The Emergencies Ministry has warned citizens about the need to conserve heat, and has advised people to cover windows with plywood sheeting, blankets, or any other material to hand if it is not possible to replace the glass immediately. According to data from “Yandex.Weather”, in Chelyabinsk it is now -5°C, but tonight it is expected to reach -14°C.
It was reported earlier that the authorities in the Sverdlovsk Oblast are sending a crew of glaziers into the Chelyabinsk Oblast to help replace the glass that was broken by the shockwave. They have also promised to send a batch of glass to the affected region. It had not been clarified whether the glass would be replaced for free, or whether citizens would have to pay for this service.
Meanwhile, local residents reported that they had found instructions stuck to their buildings from the management of their housing maintenance organisations asking residents to “take measures to replace [the glass] independently”.
RIA Novosti reports that after the meteorite fell, companies that install plastic windows have seen a significant increase in orders. The Chelyabinsk company “Evrostandart” explained that the replacement of a single-paned window will cost a minimum of 10,000 roubles.
The meteorite fell in Chelyabinsk Oblast on the morning of 15 February. The shockwave smashed glass in buildings and destroyed construction work. As a result, different sources report 500 to 700 people injured, from 30 to 112 hospitalised. Near lake Chebarkul, which is believed to be the site of the meteorite impact, a crater six metres wide has been found.
Comments from Nasha Gazeta:
Челдобрен:
I would have smashed my windows as well))) I need new ones.
Око:
You didn’t report the main thing, that no fishermen were injured on the lake? The meteor wasn’t dragging any little friends along for the ride???
Костя Най:
They broke down the factory wall themselves as well, hoping they’d build a new one, or knock down the old one (so that the environment wouldn’t be polluted).
112й:
Nice one, they were still thinking clearly …
Кьяра:
Russians will be Russians.
читающий:
Hey, Russians, Russians … the whole world will read this.
Доцент:
“Some residents of the Chelyabinsk Oblast who live near to the sites where the meteorite hit have started”, what a vile little article, pulling facts out of their proverbial. But did you know, that above Chelyabinsk, a meteorite weighing FIFTY tonnes exploded, and the glass from almost all the schools, kindergartens, shattered, as it did in thousands of homes. Practically ALL of the schools and kindergartens were closed and the children sent home. This article smells like bullshit.
Доцент:
In Chelyabinsk now, it’s -18C. The local government have decided to create dozens of repair crews that will deal with the consequences of the explosion of a 50-tonne meteorite above Chelyabinsk, as a result of which the glass shattered IN ALL kindergartens and schools and in hundreds of residential buildings. Look on the internet.
And now, put your thinking cap on, gentlemen readers: What sane person would knock out the glass of their own flat, if the rest of the building is unaffected?? They’re hoping for 15-10,000 roubles [£215-320, 250-375€] for a new window? It’s just ridiculous!! And to wait for a few days, teeth chattering from the cold??
Don’t take everything in the papers as read, and don’t be so naive!!!
112й: (responding to above)
“They’re hoping for 15-10,000 roubles for a new window? It’s just ridiculous!!”
Hmm … Three windows, 500 bucks a piece … And that’s just for a one bedroom corner flat.
моряк: (also responding to previous commenter)
The mysterious Russian soul! If you can wait for a few days, teeth chattering from the cold. Then, you’ll be sitting pretty with your new freebie windows.
Yeah, you don’t know what happened in Chelyabinsk yourself. You’re just regurgitating news from the internet.
??: (also responding to previous commenter)
“a meteorite weighing FIFTY tonnes exploded”
Did you weigh it yourself?
бывалый: (also responding to previous commenter)
You’re talking crap! I check out your profile for every question! So, were you in Chelyabinsk yourself then, or were you thinking up a new essay on the symbiotic relationship between nature and humanity?
50 tonnes – you’re just bullsh*tting
!: (also responding to previous commenter)
“It’s just ridiculous!! And to wait for a few days, teeth chattering from the cold??”
Paradoxical? But it’s the truth!
том: (responding to above)
“Paradoxical? But it’s the truth!”. They’ll be covered with blankets. You can bet on it. Then, they’ll get free windows to replace their rotten wooden ones. Not a great loss.
…:
Now people from Chelyabinsk will be twice as hard.
???:
According to Rambler, crowds of “diggers” rushed to the site of the meteor impact on Friday, armed with magnets and metal detectors. Some wanted just to have a piece of “the star” for memory’s sake, while others were there completely for commercial reasons.
The fact is that meteor sales is an international business, although it may not be the most common. The cost of a few fragments of “star” can be anything from one to five thousand dollars per gram.
???:
“I’m selling a piece of meteor, it cures cancer, Aids and prostate problems. It will improve your grades at school, and help you pass your exams”, a Chelyabinsk resident, Evgeniy, offers you all this for just 300,000 roubles.
A source in law enforcement has told RIA Novosti about another popular way to make money off the back of this emergency. “Lots of clever people have already started the hunt for fallen meteorite, people are saying: they’re smashing their windows, hoping for compensation, new European-style windows”, the Chelyabinsk headquarters of the Interior Ministry are saying.
Regardless of the fact that the head of the Chelyabinsk local government had already promised to replace the glass for free, local business men had already increased their price several times.
74:
I don’t believe it! People were panicking, not really likely they’d start to smash their windows in the winter when they still have to wait for the compensation! I’m speaking a a man who lives in Chelyabinsk and saw it all himself.
том:
Nice one, the guys from Chelyabinsk kept their cool … The fact that even Putin himself promised on TV, not missing the PR opportunity … (the whole day on R-24 they were playing a clip about how much he cares).
58:
My neighbours are poor, but somebody’s quite happy causing mischief.