Flooding in Russia (Black Sea region)

Flash floods killed four people in Russia's Black Sea region, officials confirmed on Wednesday.

On Tuesday evening, torrential rains caused a local river to burst its banks.

Since the floods, 1,500 people have been evacuated from the Novomikhailovsky area, 600 houses have been flooded and more than 11,000 people are without electrical power. The rains came only weeks after flash floods in July which killed 171 people in the Russian province of Krasnodar.

In the past, the Russian government has been accused of reacting very slowly to disasters; however, President Vladimir Putin has urged emergency services to take necessary measures to assist affected areas.

Local residents complained that they not been warned early enough and they could not hear the warning signals through the heavy rain.

The federal General's Office will investigate the handling of the emergency effort. Three officials have been detained for failing to warn local residents in a timely manner.