Storm Triggers Flooding in Southern Russia’s Sochi

5 days ago 2

Heavy rain caused a river to overflow in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi, causing widespread floods in residential areas, media reported Wednesday.

The storm was forecast to pummel the city of 450,000, as well as the wider region in southern Russia, for several days, bringing with it thunderstorms, hail, strong wind gusts and snow. Meteorologists said one month’s worth of precipitation fell in Sochi over the past day.

Sochi’s Kherota River overflowed and flooded several homes in the city, the Krasnodar regional branch of Russia’s Emergency Situations Ministry said. A regional response center said pumping equipment had been dispatched to the area.

Videos shared on social media showed motorists driving on flooded streets and sections of a mountainous road washed away by water.

“There were many mudslides, some roads have been destroyed,” said Sochi’s head of civil defense Dmitry Zentsov, who added that the storm also toppled many trees.

Municipal authorities said no one was injured or killed.

Sochi faces regular flooding due to its humid subtropical climate, insufficient storm drainage systems and decades of poorly regulated urban development, costing the city millions of rubles.

On Sunday, a storm in the Kerch Strait 300 kilometers (185 miles) northwest of Sochi snapped a Russian-flagged tanker in half and badly damaged a second tanker, causing a major oil spill along the Black Sea coastline.

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