Death toll from floods in southern Russia rises to 171

[Faith In Him]

Death toll from floods in southern Russia rises to 171
Posted on July 8, 2012 by The Extinction Protocol

July 8, 2012 – RUSSIA – The death toll rose to at least 171 on Monday
from severe flooding in the Black Sea region of southern Russia that
turned streets into rivers, swept away bridges and inundated thousands
of homes as many residents were sleeping. President Vladimir Putin
flew to the region and ordered investigators to determine whether more
could have been done to prevent the deaths. Torrential rains dropped
up to a foot of water in less than 24 hours, which the state
meteorological service said was five times the monthly average. The
water rushed into the hard-hit town of Krymsk with such speed and
volume early Saturday that residents said they suspected that water
had been released from a reservoir in the mountains above. Local
officials denied this, saying it was not technically possible to open
the sluices. Federal investigators, however, acknowledged Sunday that
water had been released from the reservoir, but they insisted it did
not cause the flooding and the dam had not been breached. Heavy rain
also fell in Gelendzhik, a popular seaside vacation spot about 200
kilometers (120 miles) up the coast from Sochi, where preparations are
under way for the 2014 Winter Olympics. Novorossiisk, a major Black
Sea port, also was affected. The Interior Ministry said Sunday that
150 bodies had been recovered, 139 of them in Krymsk and nine in
Gelendzhik. The majority of the dead were elderly who were unable to
escape the sudden deluge. Krymsk residents described a wave of water
that washed over the hoods of cars and inundated one-story homes. Some
sought refuge on roofs and in trees. Putin arrived Saturday evening
and viewed the damage from the air. Television footage of Krymsk shot
from Putin’s helicopter showed the city of 57,000 people partially
submerged in muddy water. The city stadium looked more like a lake.
Across the region, more than 5,000 homes were flooded. -Yahoo
Unprecedented disaster: TV footage showed brown water rushing down the
town’s streets, where bodies lay on the curbs, covered with dirty
blankets. Trees were torn out, homes destroyed and giant slabs of
asphalt thrown on top of cars. “Our house was flooded to the ceiling,”
said Polinina. “We could not open the door because of the water, so we
broke the window to climb out,” she said, seething with anger at what
she said was the lack of help from the authorities. “I put my five-
year-old grandson on the roof of our submerged car, and then we
somehow climbed up into the attic. I don’t know how we managed to
survive.” The floods left her house full of silt and debris, but did
not knock it down, so she was turned away from the local emergency
shelter with only two loaves of bread and a bottle of water, she said.
There had been no emergency warning about the flood, she said. Flash
floods frequently batter towns along the Black Sea coast during
seasonal rains in the Caucasus Mountains, but officials say the
current disaster is unprecedented. -Yahoo