Calls in Russia to probe World Cup flood damage

MOSCOW – An influential campaign group close to the Kremlin has called for an investigation into how stadiums and infrastructure built for the World Cup have failed to cope with floods.

An embankment outside the stadium in Volgograd collapsed onto a road on the day of the final, while leaks were reported at the stadium in Nizhny Novgorod during heavy rain last month which also caused flooding nearby.

The All-Russian People’s Front, which was launched by Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2011, says regional officials should investigate the cases.

A board member at the ARPF, Alexander Vasilyev, says “it’s unacceptable that facilities which were built for such a major event and which had huge amounts of budget funds spent on them could fall into disrepair so quickly.”

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