Three months worth of rain fell in one night, according to reports and the flood waters rose so fast that many received no warning and had no path for escape. (Photo: AP | Ignat Kozlov)
Jul 08, 2012
Flash floods over the weekend have claimed the lives of at least 150 people in Russia, according to officials and various reports.
Streets turned to rivers, bridges were washed away and thousands of homes were inundated by rising waters in towns in the region near the Black Sea, after over a foot of rain fell in less than 24 hours on Saturday. Russia's state meteorological service said this kind of rainfall was historic and five times the monthly average.
The worst hit area, according to Agence France-Presse, was a district around Krymsk, a town of around 57,000 where rescue teams have found 140 bodies including several children, investigators said.
The water came so fast and without warning in some areas that some locals believed that nearby reservoirs had broken their levies or had their sluices opened. Such suspicions were denied by government officials.
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Flash floods over the weekend have claimed the lives of at least 150 people in Russia, according to officials and various reports.
Streets turned to rivers, bridges were washed away and thousands of homes were inundated by rising waters in towns in the region near the Black Sea, after over a foot of rain fell in less than 24 hours on Saturday. Russia's state meteorological service said this kind of rainfall was historic and five times the monthly average.
The worst hit area, according to Agence France-Presse, was a district around Krymsk, a town of around 57,000 where rescue teams have found 140 bodies including several children, investigators said.
The water came so fast and without warning in some areas that some locals believed that nearby reservoirs had broken their levies or had their sluices opened. Such suspicions were denied by government officials.
# # #
Flash floods over the weekend have claimed the lives of at least 150 people in Russia, according to officials and various reports.
Streets turned to rivers, bridges were washed away and thousands of homes were inundated by rising waters in towns in the region near the Black Sea, after over a foot of rain fell in less than 24 hours on Saturday. Russia's state meteorological service said this kind of rainfall was historic and five times the monthly average.
The worst hit area, according to Agence France-Presse, was a district around Krymsk, a town of around 57,000 where rescue teams have found 140 bodies including several children, investigators said.
The water came so fast and without warning in some areas that some locals believed that nearby reservoirs had broken their levies or had their sluices opened. Such suspicions were denied by government officials.
# # #
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