MOSCOW -- Russian media reports said President Vladimir Putin declared Monday as a national day of mourning amid the catastrophic flood in the southern region of the country. An interior ministry spokesman said that 171 people have been killed as of late Sunday night. Majority of the fatalities - 159 to be exact - were from the city of Krymsk where torrential rains caused water level to rise 23 feet as residents were sleeping on Friday night. Ten more died in the district of Gelendzhik and two in the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk. State-run RIA Novosti added that another 320 people needed medical assistance -- 104 of whom had to be admitted to hospitals. Even as more rains and floods are likely to hit the region, Russian authorities started making promises to about 20,000 people, including payouts of 10,000 rubles or 304 U.S. dollars to each individual whose home was destroyed.