KRYMSK, Russia - Russia's emergencies minister accused local officials today of not doing enough to prevent 171 deaths in weekend floods that raised new doubts about the country's readiness for natural disasters under President Vladimir Putin.Putin declared today a day of national mourning and relatives were preparing to bury their dead in Krymsk, the southern mountain town that was worst hit by floods that caught many of the victims unawares as they slept on Friday night.
Refrigerated trucks held the discoloured bodies of some of the victims behind a hospital in Krymsk, where survivors gathered to identify the last of the dead.- Postmen in the badly damaged town of 57,000 people went from house to house, handing out sums of 10,000 roubles ($300), with the promise of more compensation to come. Many people were salvaging what they could from their sodden homes.
- "Nothing is left. We are like tramps," said Ovsen Torosyan, 30. "I bought all the furniture and electrical goods on credit and still have to finish paying for them but they have all gone."
Putin, who was criticised for responding too slowly to national disasters early in his first spell as president, quickly flew to Krymsk on Saturday to show he was in control and ordered an inquiry into the high death toll.- Emergencies Minister Vladimir Puchkov has dismissed these suggestions but he said mistakes were made in failing to ensure residents were warned quickly enough. A criminal investigation has been launched.
Residents said the floods upended trees and drowned livestock, lifting the carcasses and carrying them on the waters rushing through city streets. Officials said they were collecting animal corpses and destroying them to prevent disease from spreading in the aftermath of the floods.Some residents say the wall of water that swept through Krymsk was so high that the gates of a nearby reservoir must have been opened.
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