MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 30th June, 2019) Russian President Vladimir Putin instructed Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu that the military force should join flood relief efforts in Irkutsk region if deemed necessary, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Sunday.
On Saturday, Putin arrived in the region's city of Bratsk, where a state of emergency was declared in connection with the heavy flooding, to meet with local authorities and heads of Federal agencies to discuss the situation.
"In continuation of a night meeting in Bratsk on flood relief efforts Vladimir Putin ordered Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu that the army should join the Emergencies Ministry if needed," Peskov said.
Putin said he would hold another meeting on the situation in the region in Moscow on July 3.
According to the regional government, 1,700 residential buildings remain affected by the flooding. At the same time, the Russian Emergencies Ministry's general office in Irkutsk region said on Saturday that 3,700 houses had been affected.
The ministry said 42 temporary accommodation facilities had been set up, 15 of them are sheltering more than 1,300 people.
