Over 1,000 troops involved in the cleanup effort in the southern Russian town of Krymsk severely damaged by devastating floods are returning to their permanent bases after completion of their work, the press office of the Southern Military District reported on Sunday.

“Troops from Maikop, the Rostov Region, the Novorossiysk naval base and the Krasnodar Region totaling about 1,100 servicemen are the first to leave the town. Also, 40 pieces of equipment are being pulled out of the town,” the press office said.

The floods, which swept through three cities in southern Russia, including Krymsk, on July 6-7, killed 171 people and submerged 7,000 homes, causing massive damage to the gas, electricity and water supplies and road and rail links.

Overall, about 4,300 troops will be pulled out of Krymsk in the next two days while about 1,200 servicemen from the 7th Guards Airborne Division and railway troops will stay in the town to continue repairing the flood-inflicted damage, the press office said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin warned on Tuesday that heads would roll over the poor handling of the aftermath of the devastating floods. He directed the Russian Federation Investigative Committee to assess the officials’ performance in responding to the floods and establish the cause of the massive death toll, and duly inform the public about its findings.

Many residents claimed they never received any storm warning. District authorities said they launched a news ticker on local television and sent out mass text messages, but the power was out before the flood, shutting off TV sets, and the text messages mostly arrived too late and in truncated form.