Putin calls for immediate flood relief

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MOSCOW, July 14 (UPI) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin has called on local authorities to streamline the process of helping flood-affected residents of the southern Kuban region.

The president held a teleconference with officials Saturday to discuss flood relief for three cities near the Kuban River, RIA Novosti reported.

"The president called for special attention to be paid to the need to minimize bureaucratic procedures and also not waste citizens' time in the process of issuing new documents to people who had lost them in the floods, and also speed up payment of compensation," said Putin's press secretary, Dmitry Peskov.

"The president intends to maintain control of relief work himself," he added.

Floods on July 7 killed 171 people, flooded 7,000 homes and caused damage to gas, electricity and water supplies, and roads and railways. Most of the deaths happened in the village of Krymsk.