RUSSIA / POLAND : FOTOS/VIDEO : 10 July UPDATE: Local Chief Fired After Flooding Kills 171 Near Krymsk; Small Payments Issued.

                       3rd LINK CHANGE:
        TO READ: Latest Report
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/russia-blames-local-officials-over-fatal-floods/


       One local official has been fired...after President Putin's tour of Russia's soggy southland by helicopter...where at least 171 died...and 320 were injured...from Friday's heavy rains and flash flooding.
       The local head of the Krymsk district was axed by the governor...after many residents blamed officials for being slow to issue warnings.
       Putin has ordered an investigation into the extensive loss of lives.
       Postal workers are began issuing initial $300 payments to distressed residents.

       The early morning floods caught many by surprise as they swept over the southern Krasnodar region.
       Hardest hit was the area around the Krymsk district...where 139 perished.
       Some are blaming the gate opening of a nearby reservoir for the destruction.

    More than 12,000 people have been displaced by flooding.
    Many residents were forced to take shelter on roofs or in trees.

    Elderly residents appear to the majority of victims from the rapidly rising waters.

    Oil and grain shipments have resumed at the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk.

    The Krasnodar region is popular with tourists...with the season just underway.
    The flooding is called the worst in 70 years.

    Southern Poland also suffered heavy flooding...but few deaths.
       TO SEE: 18x Aftermath FOTOS.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/gallery/2012/jul/08/flash-floods-in-russia-in-pictures
       TO WATCH: 1:50 early Raw Video...no ad...with aerial footage.
        http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-18751198