Police detained three officials in the Krasnodar region over the weekend, accusing them of negligence after flooding killed 171 people in early July.
Krymsk Mayor Vladimir Ulanovsky, former head of the Krymsk district Vasily Krutko and Viktor Zhdanov, acting head of the district's emergency warning department, face up to seven years in prison and a ban on holding official positions for three years if tried and convicted of the charges, investigators said in a statement Sunday.
Authorities fired Krutko as district head a few days after torrential rain caused the worst flash flooding to hit the region in 70 years. An estimated 153 people died in Krymsk and the surrounding district alone.
Voters elected Ulanovsky as Krymsk mayor on May 13, when he garnered almost 95 percent of the vote as the United Russia candidate.
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