More than 100 dead in Russian flood
More than 100 people have been killed after intense flooding struck in the Black Sea region of southern Russia.
Torrential rains dropped almost a foot of water on the Krasnodar area, forcing many to scramble on
top of trees and roofs for safety, officials said.
Many people were asleep when the flooding hit overnight yesterday, with water rushing into the area around the hard-hit town of Krimsk with such speed and volume that rumours emerged local officials had opened a nearby water reservoir.
Muddy water coursed through streets and homes, in some cases high enough to flow over the bonnets of cars and even as high as rooftops, according to witnesses.
People waded through waist-high water or manoeuvred the streets in boats. About 5,000 properties were flooded, Krasnodar governor Alexander Tkachev was quoted as telling the Interfax news agency.
“Nobody remembers such a flood in all (of the area’s) history,” he said.
The interior ministry gave the death toll as 103 last night, according to Russian news agencies. A regional ministry spokesman said earlier that at least 67 of the deaths were around Krimsk, about 750 miles south of Moscow.
Five people were electrocuted in the Black Sea coastal city of Gelendzhik after a transformer fell into the water, state news agency RIA Novosti said.
Anna Kovalevskaya, whose parents live in the flooded area, described water inundating their home up to the roof.
“In the town, people are saying that a reservoir in the mountains above was opened,” she told the Moscow-based radio station Russian News Service.
“A wave came from there. There was seven metres (22ft) of water in the town.”
Mr Tkachev reacted angrily to the speculation, saying on his Twitter account: “Stop spreading stupid rumours ... Now is the time to get through things together, not mock.”
State news channel Rossiya 24 showed video of area residents rescuing people in small, inflatable boats and others slogging glumly through flooded homes.
More than 11in of rain had fallen in Gelendzhik since Friday evening, the state meteorological service said.
Gelendzhik is on the Black Sea coast, and along with the area around it, is a popular summer vacation spot, including many children’s camps. Vice-premier Olga Golodets told RIA Novosti that some 7,100 children were at holiday camps in the area, and that 459 children had to be evacuated.
The area also includes Novorossiisk, a major Black Sea port. The Transneft oil company said yesterday it had suspended loading oil onto tankers at the port because of the severe weather.
More than 1,500 emergency ministry officials were working to aid flood victims and clean up the damage, state TV said.
