Updated on
Summary At least 171 people have been killed so far in the heavy floods in Southern Russia.
The death toll from severe flash floods in Russias southern Krasnodar region has climbed to 171 people from 154, a police official said Sunday.The worst hit area was an area around Krymsk, a town with a population of 57,000 lying about 200 kilometres (120 miles) northwest of the Black Sea resort town of Sochi where Russia will host the 2014 Winter Olympic Games.Some 159 bodies have been discovered in the Krymsk district, a police official with the emergency task force in Moscow told AFP.The toll remained at 12 people for the port of Novorossiisk and the resort town of Gelendzhik, where some of the victims died from electrocution Friday during a thunderstorm.Nearly 29,000 people remained without power across the southern region, the emergencies ministry said earlier in the day.Flash floods frequently batter towns along the picturesque Black Sea coast during seasonal rains in the Caucasus mountains, but authorities say the current disaster is unprecedented.Officials have not been able to explain the massive death toll, saying only the floods were caused by torrential rains and caught many people in their sleep.Officials quickly moved to quash speculation that the deluge was caused by an emergency release of water at a local water reservoir.
