Emergency Situations Minister Vladimir Puchkov told a government meeting that a new system would be created to warn people about pending natural disasters after the Krasnodar flooding amid heavy rainfall early Saturday laid bare the flaws of the current system.
“A system to warn the residents was set up,” Puchkov said in televised remarks. “But, unfortunately, not everyone was warned early enough. Mistakes were allowed by local leaders and various services. Not all the population was warned in time.”
The ministry has said that a flood warning was sent to Krasnodar cell phones, but many residents denied receiving the text message. During Soviet times, residents were alerted by warning systems installed in every house, but the system is now obsolete, even though many people continue to pay for it.
Keeping the blame local, Krasnodar Governor Alexander Tkachyov put the mayor of Krymsk and the head of the Krymsk district, the two areas worst-hit by the flooding, on administrative leave, and federal investigators searched the offices of a local water company in connection with widespread suspicions that a failure at a reservoir it operates had caused the flooding.
Investigative Committee officials on Monday searched the offices of Yugvodokanal, which is responsible for pumping water from the Neberdzhayevskoye reservoir in the Krasnodar region. Spokesman Vladimir Markin said company managers were also questioned in connection with the tragedy.
Yugvodokanal is controlled by the Yevraziisky Bank, chaired by Stanislav Svetlitsky, who served as a deputy energy minister from 2008 to 2010.
Svetlitsky’s name surfaced in March when he and Anatoly Ballo, a Vneshekonombank deputy chairman, were investigated by the Interior Ministry in connection with the possible embezzlement of a $14 million loan allocated to purchase Yugvodokanal four years ago. The investigation remains ongoing.
Yevraziisky Bank representatives were unavailable to comment Monday, but the bank denied in a statement on its website that the reservoir had caused the tragedy.
An anonymous Yugvodokanal engineer told LifeNews.ru that the reservoir had not undergone repairs since being built in 1959.
“A system to warn the residents was set up,” Puchkov said in televised remarks. “But, unfortunately, not everyone was warned early enough. Mistakes were allowed by local leaders and various services. Not all the population was warned in time.”
The ministry has said that a flood warning was sent to Krasnodar cell phones, but many residents denied receiving the text message. During Soviet times, residents were alerted by warning systems installed in every house, but the system is now obsolete, even though many people continue to pay for it.
Keeping the blame local, Krasnodar Governor Alexander Tkachyov put the mayor of Krymsk and the head of the Krymsk district, the two areas worst-hit by the flooding, on administrative leave, and federal investigators searched the offices of a local water company in connection with widespread suspicions that a failure at a reservoir it operates had caused the flooding.
Investigative Committee officials on Monday searched the offices of Yugvodokanal, which is responsible for pumping water from the Neberdzhayevskoye reservoir in the Krasnodar region. Spokesman Vladimir Markin said company managers were also questioned in connection with the tragedy.
Yugvodokanal is controlled by the Yevraziisky Bank, chaired by Stanislav Svetlitsky, who served as a deputy energy minister from 2008 to 2010.
Svetlitsky’s name surfaced in March when he and Anatoly Ballo, a Vneshekonombank deputy chairman, were investigated by the Interior Ministry in connection with the possible embezzlement of a $14 million loan allocated to purchase Yugvodokanal four years ago. The investigation remains ongoing.
Yevraziisky Bank representatives were unavailable to comment Monday, but the bank denied in a statement on its website that the reservoir had caused the tragedy.
An anonymous Yugvodokanal engineer told LifeNews.ru that the reservoir had not undergone repairs since being built in 1959.
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