Russian President Vladimir Putin has declared today a day of mourning after up to 170 people died in flash floods in the Black Sea region.
Mr Putin has ordered an inquiry to establish whether enough was done to warn people about the floods.
The majority of the dead were elderly who were unable to escape the sudden deluge.
President Putin, who was criticised for reacting slowly to disasters when he first took power, quickly visited Krymsk - the worst-hit town - on Saturday.
He promised compensation for victims the day after water rose above head-height in some houses and turned streets into raging torrents.
Even so his trip came under fire on social media sites for drawing attention from the victims, and residents complained they had been caught unawares when the torrential rain struck without warning from local officials on Friday night.
Some suggested the water came with such force that the gates of a local reservoir may have been opened.
Residents remained without power, gas or drinking water last night, and the health ministry, fearing infection from a cemetery eroded by floodwaters, had begun vaccinating people.
Witnesses said a seven-metre wall of water had smashed through the town, killing 139 people.
Transport in the relatively rich agricultural region near the Black Sea was gradually returning to normal yesterday.
Most passenger rail traffic resumed and Russia's biggest port, Novorossiisk, a major outlet for crude oil from the world's largest producer, resumed normal operations, a spokesman said.
Novorossiisk is also a major outlet for wheat from Russia, the world's second largest exporter this past year.
The official death toll stood at 150 although Interfax news agency said in an unconfirmed report that the number of dead had risen to 170.
