Intense flooding in the Black Sea region of southern Russia has killed at least 134 people after torrential rains dropped nearly a foot of water, officials said Saturday. Krasnodar, which is about 12-hundred kilometres south of Moscow, suffered overnight rains of as much as 28 centimeters.

Many people were asleep when the flooding hit overnight in the region. Residents were forced to take refuge in trees or on rooftops. In some areas, people waded through waist-high water or moved through the streets in boats. According to the local governor, about 5-thousand residences were flooded. The city is on the Black Sea coast and is a popular summer holiday spot.

A stranded car is seen in a recently flooded street in the southern Russian town of Krymsk July 7, 2012.

The Transneft oil company in Krasnodar said on Saturday that it had suspended loading oil onto tankers at the port because of the severe weather. State TV said that more than 15-hundred Emergency Ministry officials were working to aid flood victims and clean up the damage.

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