At least 171 people have been killed in a devastating flood in Russia’s southern Krasnodar region. It’s the worst of its kind in nearly a century, and the death toll continues to rise.
Some 479 people, 48 children among them, have sought medical aid following the flood. Medics have hospitalized 159 people, including sixteen children. Almost 3,000 people have been evacuated from the disaster area.
More than 24,000 people have been affected by the disaster. A state of emergency has been declared in the cities of Krymsk, Novorossiysk, and Gelendzhik. In total 159 bodies have been recovered so far in Krymsk, ten in Gelendzhik and two in Novorossiysk.
The head of the Russia’s Emergency Ministry has acknowledged that the flood hazard alarm system did not function properly in Krymsk.
“According to preliminary estimates, the population was notified, but not in a sufficiently thorough way,” the head of EMERCOM Vladimir Puchkov said.
Deputy Minister of the Interior Aleksandr Gorovoy said that the search for bodies continued as there are still two people unaccounted for. Also, he voiced fears that more people could be missing.
The flood was part of the aftermath of a giant storm that hit Krasnodar, dropping almost half a year’s rainfall on the region over two days. The weather forecast promises more heavy rains and squally wind to hit the region by night.
The most heavily affected areas are along the Russian Black Sea coast, which bore the brunt of the deluge as it rushed out to sea.
A day of mourning will be held across Russia on July 9 to commemorate the victims of the flood.