Over 100 killed in floods, landslides in Russia

Holiday destination

"Police are beefing up their presence to prevent mass looting," police spokesman Igor Zhelyabin said.

"The floods hit at night when people were asleep. You can't do anything about that. Many people in Gelendzhik were hit by electric shocks and some of them were washed away into the sea."

An emergency service worker (L) stands near an overturned car in the southern Russian town of Krymsk, July 7, 2012. [Photo/Agencies]

The Krasnodar region, with its coastline and high, wooded mountains, is a popular holiday destination for Russians, particularly Gelendzhik. The holiday season has just began, but it was not clear whether any tourists had been killed.

The State Hydrometeorology Agency said more rain was possible on Saturday and Sunday and Alexander Tkachov, the governor of the Krasnodar region, urged people not to panic.

"No one can remember such floods in our history. There was nothing of the kind for the last 70 years. More than 5,000 households were hit," Itar-Tass news agency quoted him as saying.

Transneft spokesman Igor Dyomin said regional transport was in a state of collapse, and all trains heading to and from Novorossiisk were suspended.

"The water has risen half a meter above the rails," Russian Railways said on its website.

The Novorossiisk port, which handles grains and metals as well as crude oil, said the outlet had cut shipping volumes. "We are not loading grain due to the rainy weather," port spokesman Mikhail Sidorov said.

"Of course, we have 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."

Last month Transneft forecast crude exports from Novorossiisk would fall to 3.38 million tons in July from 3.61 million tons in June.

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