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Tkachev takes situation in flood-hit under control

Chief of the territory’s police Colonel Yuri Kuznetsov left for the site of the tragedy
Photo ITAR-TASS
Photo ITAR-TASS

KRASNODAR, August 22 (Itar-Tass) — Krasnodar Territory Governor Alexander Tkachev has taken the situation in the Novomikhailovsky village under control, the gubernatorial press service told Itar-Tass on Wednesday.

The governor has left for the site of the flood, the press service said.

In his Twitter blog, Tkachev wrote that the warning system “worked strictly. People were evacuated in time. I hope that information will not change.”

He also said on Tuesday, local residents watched several wind-spouts in the sea. “One of the wind-spouts is likely to reach the riverside as it happened in 2010. Now the water is being reduced,” the governor said.

Meanwhile, bodies of four dead people have been found in a waterlogged village in Krasnodar Territory, the Russian Interior Ministry’s press service told Itar-Tass on Wednesday. “At the moment four dead people have been found. They are being identified,” an official of the ministry said.

About 300 houses have been waterlogged in the Novomikhailovsky village due to rainstorms. About 1,500 people have been evacuated. “The water level is being reduced at a speed of about 10 cm/h,” the official said.

Earlier, spokesperson of the regional emergency department Tatyana Kobzarenko said the emergency department had succeeded in warning people about the flood. “Tomorrow warnings about the weather deterioration were sent to all municipal structures. When it started raining, the municipality’s head gave warnings: loudspeakers worked and the population was proposed to leave their houses. Other recommendations were also given,” she said.

Chief of the territory’s police Colonel Yuri Kuznetsov left for the site of the tragedy.

“At present, there is no electricity in the Novomikhailovsky village. Traffic on the federal highway has resumed. Additional traffic control posts work on the spot. Investigators will arrive to help register statements from citizens who were affected by the flood,” the press service said.

Policemen walk around farmhouses to determine damage caused by the disaster and ensure law and order, and prevent marauding.

The operation involved 107 employees and 15 units of transport of the Tuapse Interior Department. “In addition, interior forces from Krasnodar, Gelendzhik, Goryachiy Klyuch, special police detachments and SOBR forces for Krasnodar Territory have left for the area,” the press service said.

In the morning Russian Emergencies Minister Vladimir Puchkov has held a session in the Novomikhailovsky village to discuss the situation. He instructed to give necessary assistance to people, primarily to lone persons, and to those who have been hospitalised. The minister demanded the emergency commission work operatively.

The minister said it was inadmissible to discharge people from the hospital. If it necessary, they should be sent to other medical institutions, Puchkov said.

“People should not search for assistance. Aid should be provided to every house,” he added.

Rescuers of the Emergency Care Support Team “Leader” have arrived in Krasnodar Territory to cope with the consequences of floods in the Tuapse district. “About 9 a.m. the Il-76 plane made a landing in the airport of Gelendzhik. The plane carried rescuers of the Emergency Care Support Centre Team ‘Leader’ and necessary equipment. They will leave to the spot from Gelendzhik,” the press service said.

President Vladimir Putin instructed the Emergency Situations Ministry and the Ministry of Regional Development, as well as the Krasnodar Territory administration to provide assistance to the Novomikhailovsky village that was hit by the food, the Kremlin press service reported.

“The president called for taking necessary measures to provide aid to the victims of the flood, restoring housing and organising normal living conditions in the village,” the press service said.

Last night Nechepsukho River’s water level rose after rainstorms in the village of Novomikhailovsky. Six streets have been waterlogged in houses where 1,500 people live. The rainstorms killed 153 people, destroyed 1,370 houses and waterlogged 7,000 houses.