Tragic summer Forty-four dead in Russian floods; crews continue

SHIROKAYA BALKA, Russia -- Divers searched for bodies off Black Sea coast Saturday, where beaches were littered with fallen trees, smashed vehicles and other debris after disastrous flooding that has taken at least 44 lives in Russia.

On land, rescue crews scoured the debris-strewn shoreline and destroyed vacation resorts for victims of the second major flood to hit southern Russia this summer.

Elsewhere across Europe, work crews struggled to clean up from several days of flooding. Officials said the storms killed at least 51 people across the continent, including those who died in Russia.

In the Russian resort village of Shirokaya Balka, dozens of cars and two buses were washed into the sea when a wall of water came rushing down the mountain, destroying vacation homes, cafes and recreation halls.

"I am in despair," said Andrei, a tourist who only gave his first name, as he stood near the destroyed hulk of his car. "I don't know what to do."

The flooding was so severe in this small scenic village that even parts of the concrete road were completely washed away, trapping those tourists lucky enough to have saved their vehicles.

Thousands evacuated

The death toll on Saturday rose to 44 people in the Novorossisk region, about 625 miles south of Moscow, said Marina Ruklina, spokeswoman for the Emergency Situations Ministry. Among the dead were two children under the age of 2 and 25 women.

The flooding forced the evacuation of thousands of people from summer camps and villages in the region, officials said. ITAR-Tass news agency reported that the flooding destroyed 70 homes, four power stations and 18 bridges.

Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered government departments on Saturday to do more to help the victims of the flooding.

"Although it is summer, relaxation is out of the question," Putin said during a meeting in the Kremlin, according to Interfax news agency. "Help must be extended ... Epidemics must be prevented and people must be supported."

In June, Putin criticized official handling of flooding that claimed more than 91 lives across southern Russia, saying local authorities were ill-prepared and responded too slowly.

Much of Europe deluged

Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov was in the Black Sea resort of Sochi on Saturday to receive reports on the rescue and cleanup efforts, Interfax news agency reported.

In the Czech Republic, a 19-year-old girl was missing after a raft carrying her and two other people overturned.

Flooding left dozens of Bulgarian villages without electricity. In Italy, runoff from heavy rains raised the sea level around Venice by 35 inches, sparking fears of flooding there.

On Saturday, a hail and lightning storm in Rome knocked over trees in parts of the capital. The north, where heavy rain cause severe crop damage last week, was hit with renewed downpours.

A 35-year-old fisherman in the town of Porto Tolle, about 30 miles south of Venice, who was killed Friday after being hit by lightning while on a boat.

Austrian rescuers worked to reach villagers stranded on rooftops, while three trains carrying 150 salvage personnel and heavy equipment prepared to head to the hardest-hit parts of Lower Austria on Saturday to reopen roads and railways covered with silt by the flooding.

Hundreds of army engineers labored to build makeshift bridges to replace washed-away spans and police guarded flood-damaged or abandoned shops to prevent looting.