Russia in mourning

Russian President Vladimir Putin called the day of national mourning for the 171 killed in the floods in the southern Krasnodar region as relatives of victims prepared to bury their dead.

Flags flew at half-mast over the Kremlin and other official buildings, and entertainment programs were canceled.

Several funerals have been taking place in Krymsk, the town that was worst hit by the floods. Significant damage also occured in the neighboring cities of Gelendzhik and Novorossiisk.

More than 25,000 people lost part or all of their belongings in the flooding, which was caused by almost 24 hours of torrential rain.

Putin flew to Krymsk on Saturday to assess the damage, and has ordered an inquiry into the high death toll.

Media criticism

Both pro-government and opposition newspapers have criticized the Russian authorities for failing to provide sufficient warning to the local people.

"The tragedy of Krymsk was a perfect demonstration of what slovenliness and hoping against hope brings about, " the pro-Kremlin Izvestia daily wrote.

The Vedomosti daily, which tends to be critical of the government, wrote that authorities had been aware of the risk of floods in the region, particularly after deadly floods in the summer of 2002.

"The catastrophe shows up the inability of the authorities to protect the population from natural disasters," the paper said.

Official failures

Emergency Minister Vladimir Puchkov has dismissed suggestions that the flooding was caused by the gates of a nearby reservoir being opened, but admitted mistakes in the warning system.

"According to a preliminary appraisal, warnings were made but unfortunately not all the work was carried out properly. Mistakes were allowed by local leaders and various services," he said in televised comments.

"Not all the population was warned in time," he added.

Many of those killed were caught unawares as they slept on Friday night.

The disaster counts as Russia's worst flooding catastrophe. It was also the first major disaster in Russia since Putin returned to the Kremlin for a third term as president.

His 12 years in power as president and prime minister have seen a series of natural and manmade calamities that have revealed shortcomings in Russian transport and infrastructure investment.

tj/msh (Reuters, AFP)