written by Staff
Saturday July 7, 2012
At least 99 people died and thousands of houses were flooded after torrential rains, storms and landslides hit Russia's Krasnodar region near the Black Sea, according to local police.
The Emergencies Ministry said an average month's rain has fallen in the region within just a few hours. Television footage showed flooded streets and people scrambling onto rooftops.
Sixty-seven bodies including that of a 10-year-old were found in the region's Krymsk district, while nine others died in the Black Sea resort town of Gelendzhik and two in the port of Novorossiisk over the past two days, regional police spokesman Igor Zhelyabin said.
Novorossiisk, Russia's largest Black Sea port, halted crude oil shipments on Saturday, a spokesman for oil pipeline operator Transneft told Reuters.
"The region is in transportation collapse," Transneft spokesman Igor Dyomin said. The port of Novorossiisk had stopped crude oil shipments but Transneft's infrastructure was largely unaffected, he said.
A spokesman for the port, which handles grains as well as crude oil, said the outlet had cut shipping volumes and the port's administration had called an urgent meeting.
"Of course, we limited shipments, the port is located in the lower part of town, the whole landslide has moved towards it. As we speak, the rain has started again," Vladimir Sidorov said. "I will have more detailed information after the meeting."
Last month Transneft forecast crude exports from Novorossiisk would fall to 3.38 million tonnes in July from 3.61 million tonnes in June.
More than 1,500 Emergency Ministry officials were working to aid flood victims and clean up the damage, state TV said.
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