Russia hit by meteorite – more car accidents than usual

“The Allianz branch in Chelyabinsk was affected but not seriously: the windows were crashed, telecommunications were interrupted. All employees and their families are alive but in shock,” says Dmitry Togunov, Director of Chelyabinsk Branch, Allianz Russia.

“There are more car accidents than usual, because people were in a hurry and panic in the morning,” says Togunov. Currently Allianz staff in the region are ready to assist affected customers.

Allianz has been active on the Russian market since 1990. In 2012, three Allianz-owned Russian entities – ROSNO, Progress-Garant and Allianz Russia – were merged into one company called OJSC IC Allianz, which is one of the largest insurance groups in Russia. The company’s insurance policies and contracts are held by more than 18 million people and over 50 thousand enterprises and organizations. Clients can choose from over 130 types of voluntary and obligatory P&C insurance products. Its regional network accounts for 92 branches and 500 agencies in all Russian regions. Allianz also owns Allianz ROSNO Life. In 2011, the aggregate gross premiums written of Allianz companies in Russia amounted to 32.3 billion Rubels or 803 million EUR.

As of December 31, 2011, The Meteoritical Society has classified a total of 41,600 known meteorites.

As of December 31, 2011, The Meteoritical Society has classified a total of 41,600 known meteorites.

The risk of a meteorite reaching Earth’s surface is real but low

Several thousand meteorites weighing at least 1 kg fall to Earth each year, mostly over the oceans, says a recent report by Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty. These rocky or ferrous fragments typically come from asteroids, or more rarely, from the moon or Mars. Many meteorites have been recovered. Of these, about two-thirds were found in Antarctica. The largest ever observed, fell in the Sikhote-Alin Mountains of Russia on February 12, 1947. Estimated at more than 100 tons, it exploded into pieces, which themselves broke into smaller fragments due to the mechanical and thermal effects of friction on particles in the atmosphere.

The risk of a large meteorite reaching Earth’s surface is real, but very low, the report says. The number of celestial bodies that, because of the high amount of kinetic energy involved, could potentially cause a major disaster is estimated at 70. Such strikes are difficult to quantify, both in terms of the likelihood of their occurrence and the severity of their consequences. No data are available on the frequency of such risks, nor are any dates predicted. It is equally difficult to predict the potential damage that could result from a minor collision, such as a crater or a debris plume rising from the Earth’s crust. It is similarly difficult to predict the far more dangerous consequences of a tidal wave or tsunami generated by a meteor strike, which have the potential to carry a quarter of the energy released upon impact onto coastlines. ESA, in partnership with other research agencies, closely evaluates these risks through its Space Situational Awareness (SSA) program. This team is dedicated to monitoring potential asteroid and Near-Earth Object (NEO) collisions, and is working specifically on developing a system that measures and models such risks. This includes the accurate predictions of trajectories and an issue alert system. The asteroid Apophis – weighing an impressive 27 million tons – poses the greatest known threat to date, although the probability that it will strike Earth is estimated at one in 250,000. Apophis will cross Earth’s orbit in about 2030.

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Katerina Piro
Allianz SE
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