Russia mourns flood dead as investigators probe into possible negligence

Investigators have launched a probe into possible negligence after flash floods in southern Russia killed at least 171 people and President Vladimir Putin demanded an explanation from officials.

According to news reports, questions mounted over whether officials did enough to warn of the impending calamity.

Putin demanded Saturday evening that officials explain the massive death toll in what is the first major disaster since he returned to the Kremlin for a third term in May.

However Putin, who compared the force of water to a "tsunami", also quickly moved to dispel rumours that the deluge might have been caused by an emergency opening of sluice gates at a local reservoir.

The Vedomosti daily said that flooding in the Krasnodar region was in no way a novelty and authorities were well aware of the risk, particularly after deadly floods in the summer of 2002 that also hit Krymsk.

"The catastrophe shows up the inability of the authorities to protect the population from natural disasters," said the opposition-inclined economic newspaper.

"People were not evacuated and were not warned about the threat," it said.