The number of military servicemen in the flood-stricken town of Krymsk may be increased to help the local authorities and thousands of volunteers to deal with consequences of the natural disaster.

Thousands of volunteers have been clearing out the area where over 5,000 houses were destroyed in just a few hours early on July 7, together with emergency service staff and military forces.

"If we can, we have to increase the military troops to 5,000 people," President Vladimir Putin said during his visit to the site on Sunday, RIA Novosti reported.

Thousands of volunteers

In total, 15,000 volunteers have arrived in Krymsk, said Inna Airapetyan, spokeswoman for the youth policy department of the Krasnodar region, but people were still needed in the area. No full details, however, were available on Monday morning.

"It was said that servicemen were to arrive here," she told The Moscow News without elaborating.

Top model Natalya Vodyanova and opposition figure Alyona Popova were among those who organized camps for volunteers to help the worst natural disaster the region has seen in years, as well as United Russia State Duma Deputy Robert Shlegel.

The number of people who arrived on their own or joined groups organized by NGOs was about 4,000 people, Airapetyan said.

The Emergency Service Ministry has also increased the number of staff in the area by 1160 people, ministry's head Vladimir Puchkov told Intefax. At the same time, local warehouses have been overfilled with humanitarian aid, according to him, and no other deliveries were needed.

Recovery efforts

Work in the area has been ongoing for over a week, but problems with the power, water and gas supplies have not been sorted out completely.

By Monday morning, about 500 people in Krymsk were left without electricity, and 91 had no gas supply, according to the Emergency Situations Ministry's official statement, 2 and 0.1 percent, respectively. Two residential buildings of 408 people total remain without running water.

The vast majority of all united efforts have been concentrated in Krymsk, where the largest numbers of fatalities were registered. Other areas affected by the disaster have reportedly been given way less aid.

"Some groups are occasionally sent to help out there," Airapetyan said.

List of victims

The list of victims published by Krymsk authorities on the official website featured 152 names and an unidentified man.

The overall death toll of the flooding was nearly two dozen higher, according to the Emergency Situations Ministry.

"According to our data, 171 people were killed by the flooding, but there are a few more people that haven't been identified," Puchkov told Interfax on Sunday, dismissing speculations over larger numbers.

The fatal consequences of the disaster could have been fewer if residents of high-risk areas had been warned of the coming flooding as prescribed by the national standards, according to media reports and local residents.

The Emergency Situations Ministry has recognized failures in passing on the information, and a criminal case has been opened by the Investigative Committee.

Keywords: Russia, Disasters - Russian News - Russia

The number of military servicemen in the flood-stricken town of Krymsk may be increased to help the local authorities and thousands of volunteers to deal with consequences of the natural disaster.

Thousands of volunteers have been clearing out the area where over 5,000 houses were destroyed in just a few hours early on July 7, together with emergency service staff and military forces.

"If we can, we have to increase the military troops to 5,000 people," President Vladimir Putin said during his visit to the site on Sunday, RIA Novosti reported.

Thousands of volunteers

In total, 15,000 volunteers have arrived in Krymsk, said Inna Airapetyan, spokeswoman for the youth policy department of the Krasnodar region, but people were still needed in the area. No full details, however, were available on Monday morning.

"It was said that servicemen were to arrive here," she told The Moscow News without elaborating.

Top model Natalya Vodyanova and opposition figure Alyona Popova were among those who organized camps for volunteers to help the worst natural disaster the region has seen in years, as well as United Russia State Duma Deputy Robert Shlegel.

The number of people who arrived on their own or joined groups organized by NGOs was about 4,000 people, Airapetyan said.

The Emergency Service Ministry has also increased the number of staff in the area by 1160 people, ministry's head Vladimir Puchkov told Intefax. At the same time, local warehouses have been overfilled with humanitarian aid, according to him, and no other deliveries were needed.

Recovery efforts

Work in the area has been ongoing for over a week, but problems with the power, water and gas supplies have not been sorted out completely.

By Monday morning, about 500 people in Krymsk were left without electricity, and 91 had no gas supply, according to the Emergency Situations Ministry's official statement, 2 and 0.1 percent, respectively. Two residential buildings of 408 people total remain without running water.

The vast majority of all united efforts have been concentrated in Krymsk, where the largest numbers of fatalities were registered. Other areas affected by the disaster have reportedly been given way less aid.

"Some groups are occasionally sent to help out there," Airapetyan said.

List of victims

The list of victims published by Krymsk authorities on the official website featured 152 names and an unidentified man.

The overall death toll of the flooding was nearly two dozen higher, according to the Emergency Situations Ministry.

"According to our data, 171 people were killed by the flooding, but there are a few more people that haven't been identified," Puchkov told Interfax on Sunday, dismissing speculations over larger numbers.

The fatal consequences of the disaster could have been fewer if residents of high-risk areas had been warned of the coming flooding as prescribed by the national standards, according to media reports and local residents.

The Emergency Situations Ministry has recognized failures in passing on the information, and a criminal case has been opened by the Investigative Committee.