Governor Alexander Tkachyov will skip the London Olympics to deal with a flooding disaster in his Krasnodar region.
The governor had planned to lead a delegation of Krasnodar officials to the Summer Games, which open Friday, in hope of gleaning tips for the 2014 Winter Olympics, which will be held in the region's Black Sea resort of Sochi.
But the July 7 flooding after torrential rains, which killed at least 171 people, including 153 in the town of Krymsk, changed all that, the governor's office said Wednesday.
"Krymsk reconstruction is a priority at the moment," the governor's office said in a statement on its website.
It added that the delegation had considered the trip "a valuable experience" because of the Sochi Olympics.
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