Russia flash floods: 144 killed in Krasnodar region (VIDEO AND PHOTOS)

       Over a hundred killed as Tsunami like Floods hit southern Russia overnight (July 7, 2012)

    A local resident looks at a submerged car in a flooded street in the village of Novoukrainsk

The floods, the worst there in living memory, struck at night, reportedly without warning. TV pictures showed people scrambling onto their rooftops to escape. President Vladimir Putin has flown over the region by helicopter and has had emergency talks with officials in the worst-hit town of Krymsk. Most of those who died were in and around Krymsk, a town of 57,000 people. But nine deaths were reported in the Black Sea resort of Gelendzhik with a further two in the port town of Novorossiysk. Russian TV showed thousands of houses in the region almost completely submerged and police said many of the victims were elderly people who had been asleep at the time. "Our house was flooded to the ceiling," Krymsk pensioner Lidiya Polinina told the Agence France-Presse news agency. "We broke the window to climb out. I put my five-year-old grandson on the roof of our submerged car, and then we somehow climbed up into the attic." Dozens of people are reportedly missing, and there are fears that the death toll will rise further. Emergency teams have been sent from Moscow by plane and helicopter. Crude oil shipments from Novorossiysk have been suspended.

The flooding occurred in the aftermath of a giant storm that swept through the region. The region experienced almost half a year’s worth of rainfall over the last two days.   

The most heavily affected areas are along the Russian Black Sea coast, which bore the brunt of the torrential waters as they rushed out to sea.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin as well as Emergency Minister Vladimir Puchkov and the Minister of Regional Development Oleg Govorun have visited the affected area.

“We are in the process of identifying the victims – some are local residents, some are vacationers,” said Zhelyabin. The local police have formed an emergency commission to deal with the situation as reinforcements arrive from Moscow.

Governor of the Krasnodar region Aleksandr Tkachyov surveyed the damage in the Gelendzhik and Krymsky districts from a helicopter in order to estimate repairs, sending updates on the situation via Twitter. “It is spectacular, to be sure, and very tragic. The water came with such force that it tore up the asphalt,” the governor wrote, commenting on a picture of one of the main streets of the city where the flood hit hardest.

Dozens of people are reportedly missing, and there are fears that the death toll will rise further.

Emergency teams have been sent from Moscow by plane and helicopter.

Crude oil shipments from Novorossiysk have been suspended.

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