Vladimir Puchkov: alert system failed to warn population of flood threat in Krasnodar Territory

According to Vladimir Puchkov, Minister for Emergencies of the Russian Federation, population of the Krasnodar Territory was not duly notified about the threat of flooding, since the warning system failed to work properly. Heads of the Division of Civil Defence and Emergencies of the Krymsk District Administration, responsible for notifying the population, claim that residents of the district had been notified of impending flooding by sirens, SMS-messages, loudspeakers, and by carrying out house visiting.

"According to preliminary estimates, the public alerting was organized; however, unfortunately, no comprehensive work was undertaken. Local leaders and some services have made mistakes," said today Vladimir Puchkov, Minister for Emergencies at the conference call, when asked by Dmitry Rogozin, Vice- Prime Minister, why residents in the Krasnodar Territory had not been notified of the flooding, the "Interfax" reports.

Andrei Berezhiani, Deputy Chief of the Southern Regional Centre of the Ministry for Emergencies (MfE), reported that they launched the alerting of the population of the impending flooding on July 6, at 11:00 p.m. According to him, the responsibility for the alerting of the population is borne by the Division of Civil Defence and Emergencies of the District Administration.

Denis Pronin, the head of the Division of Civil Defence and Emergencies of the Krymsk District Administration of the Krasnodar Territory, argues that district administration officials, members of the Council of deputies of the district and the dwelling settlement, and activists went around households to warn the residents. Besides, according to the head of the Division of Civil Defence and Emergencies, three electrical sirens, implemented at enterprises in different parts of the city, were also working simultaneously.

"Besides, we also involved police cars with loudspeakers through which people were informed of the impending flooding," Denis Pronin said.

He has emphasized that during the day, when they began to obtain reports with storm warnings, evacuation centres were deployed on the hilly part of the city. "The evacuation was partly effected, people also evacuated themselves, and we tried to evacuate them by all the possible ways. Events unfolded very rapidly," Denis Pronin has added.

According to him, at that time, he himself was on holiday in a nearby village, and when it became known of the flooding, he immediately arrived in the city of Krymsk. "I personally can only say that we did our best," RIA "Novosti" quotes Denis Pronin as concluding.

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