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Nearly 3,000 Apply for Financial Aid in Chelyabinsk

Almost 3,000 residents have applied for financial aid in the Chelyabinsk region, which is still recovering from the meteorite explosion that took place on Feb. 15, a news report said Tuesday.

Municipal bodies received 2,746 applications for lump-sum compensation and 28 requests for emergency aid from people in need of basic necessities, Interfax reported.

Emergency crews have replaced broken windows in 6,775 buildings, including 5,712 residential buildings, 236 medical facilities, 679 schools and colleges, 25 public utility buildings, 94 recreational and 29 sports facilities, the report said.

According to the regional branch of the Emergency Situations Ministry, repair crews have already restored over 90 percent of the damaged buildings, Ekho Moskvy said.

The meteorite caught fire after entering the earth's atmosphere and exploded above the Chelyabinsk region, producing a shock wave that caused extensive damage on the ground, including over 1,500 injuries.

NASA specialists estimated the power of the blast at 500,000 tons of TNT, while Russian scientists said the power of the explosion was 100-200 kilotons.

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