Post date: Jul 08, 2012 2:58:34 PM
Residents flee to temporary shelters, with some blaming the government for failing to warn them of torrential rains that have killed at least 150 people. Lindsey Parietti reports.
RUSSIA-FLOODS - Russian authorities pull cars out of the mud amid flooding that has claimed at least 150 lives.
Many were asleep when torrential rains hit the south Friday night.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE, LOCAL RESIDENT, SAYING:
"When the water hit, we heard screams from them. They started breaking the windows. And the house started drowning, you see (the water) was buzzing and boiling there."
President Vladmir Putin has ordered investigations to see if enough was done to warn people of the floods.
More rains are expected over the weekend and the governor of the Krasnodar region urged people not to panic.
ALEXANDER TKACHOV, GOVERNOR OF KRASNODAR REGION, SAYING:
"We never had such a natural disaster, (we never had) such a volume of rainfall in such a short period of time. Naturally, no storm water drains, no other means could cope with it."
Relatives of the missing scanned victim lists, searching for loved ones.
The displaced are taking refuge in temporary shelters, with many blaming the government for the scale of the disaster.
Lindsey Parietti, Reuters