Putin: Don't you see what's going on?

Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived by helicopter in the flood-affected town of Krymsk on Sunday evening. The head of state visited the disaster-stricken areas and held a meeting with local officials, Interfax reports. Putin said a number of rather harsh remarks towards Krasnodar governor Alexander Tkachev, who came under fire of criticism from local residents and journalists after the flood.

Photo: AP photo

During the meeting, Putin said he considered it possible to increase the amount of compensation paid to those who lost their property because of the flood. Before the meeting, he spoke with residents of Krymsk. The people complained that they did not receive all compensations that they were supposed to receive by law. Some said that they received 75,000 rubles, whereas other were paid 150,000 rubles ($2,300 and $4,500 respectively). The President asked Governor Tkachev to explain what was happening, said RIA Novosti.

The governor began his answer with words of gratitude for the support from the head of state. "As for thank-yous - knock  it off. Give me the details," Putin interrupted him.

Tkachev said that the law required the payment of one-time assistance in the amount of 10,000 rubles per person, but not more than 50 000 per family, regardless of the number of family members. This is the reason behind the complaints, he said. According to Tkachev, he decided to put extra funds from the regional budget so that each family member could receive over 10,000 rubles of the compensation.

"No, listen - charity is a separate issue", Putin interrupted the Governor again. "By the way, and it is necessary to pay attention to it: I have information saying that they try to distribute charity support for money in some places," the president said.  "I ask the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the authorities to pay attention to that. As for payments, let us agree that this is not charity. It all should be paid from the state treasury, from regional and the federal treasuries. If you have a problem with that - say it and we'll help you."

The Minister of Emergency Situations, Vladimir Puchkov, proposed eliminating the provision that limits one-time payment of 50 thousand rubles per family, and to provide additional compensations to the families where there are people with disabilities. "Formulate the draft of my instructions to the government, so I sign it tomorrow," Putin responded to that.

"Regardless of the number of family members, each member of the family should receive 160,000 rubles for their lost belongings. This goes for each family member, no matter how large a family can be. Some people live here permanently, but are not registered, some others do not have the Russian citizenship - it doesn't matter. If a family member lives here, then this person also has the right for the compensation. If there is any ambiguity in the law, government decrees and other regulations - pay attention to it, and we'll fix that quickly, " Putin said.

Putin also said that people complained to him that it was hard for them to receive the assistance. They have to stand in long lines for hours. Putin demanded the governor should improve the conditions for the distribution of assistance. "Is it so difficult to organize help centers in the town so that it is convenient for everybody?" Putin said. He will go into the crowd himself next time, when he comes, he added.

The President wondered whether it was possible to help those who lost their vehicles in the flood. The participants of the meeting said that people could receive payments only if their vehicles had been insured on the hull. The President ordered to analyze the issue and inform him whether there are any opportunities to help people.

According to him, local residents believe that there was no warning of the coming flood at all. He asked the Investigative Committee to look into the problem. Putin paid attention to the fact that local services were not ready to respond to such events. The results should be analyzed and measures should be taken - this is not only about Krymsk, but also about other regions, particularly the Far East, he added.

"Thirdly, is the work of medical services. For me it was strange to hear that people can not get vaccinated," said the president. He recalled that he had spoken of the need to develop this work before.

"How so? Is it hard to do that? It's just the organization of work that should be established properly," Putin said.

The President also recalled that when he came to Krymsk last time, he asked, what should be done to help, but it was only two days ago when the governor, said that there not enough people.

"Don't you see what's going on? Not enough people? You should have said that  before," said the president.

This is the second visit of the President to Krymsk in recent days. On July 7^th, Putin boarded a helicopter to see the disaster-stricken areas of the Krasnodar Territory.

Putin said that it was necessary to analyze the causes of this event - how all services were working, including alarm systems and hydraulic structures, in order to prevent a recurrence of this in other places.

A strong flood, caused by torrential rains took place on July 6-7 in the towns of Krymsk, Gelendzhik and Novorossiysk. About nine thousand homes were flooded. Krymsk suffered in the disaster most. The Minister of Emergency Situations Minister Vladimir Puchkov said Sunday that the flood in the Kuban region killed 171 people. He noted that "all the talk about a large number of victims does not make sense." Local residents, however, continue to say that the number of victims could be much larger.