Floods Cause Severe Damage in Southern Russia

Floods devastated the southern part of Russia this weekend, killing more than 170 people and leaving hundreds more homeless.

According to CNN, five people in the seaside resort town of Gelendzhik were electrocuted after power lines collapsed into the water.

Reuters is reporting that officials were expecting more rains in the Krasnodar region, although it was sunny and hot in Krymsk.

Torrential rain, equivalent to a third of the annual average rainfall in some places, temporarily paralyzed transport and briefly halted exports from the port of Novorossiisk, Russia's biggest commercial port.

The port was returning to normal operations, and the railway was operating normally again for passengers, but a railway spokesman said some freight traffic had been halted because of flood damage.