At least eight people have been killed by floods caused by torrential rain that have hit southern Russian resort towns over the past week, Interfax reported Wednesday.
Authorities declared a state of emergency in six Krasnodar region towns near the Black Sea roughly 1,300 kilometers south of Moscow.
Since heavy rainfall began Sunday, two people in Goryachy Klyuch who hadn’t heard evacuation orders died in the flooding, while five people in Tuapse, including a 10-year-old girl, were killed. One person in Sochi was killed by a tree toppled by strong winds.
Krasnodar region governor Veniamin Kondratyev said some areas saw more than two months' worth of rainfall in mere hours.
“Our coastal cities have been hit hardest,” he was quoted as saying by the flood monitoring website floodlist.com Tuesday.
At least three rivers overflowed their banks, causing damages to highways and residences, while stormy seas seriously damaged about 30 Sochi beaches.
Social media footage showed apocalyptic scenes of toppled trees, floating cars and emergency evacuations.
Kondratyev said more than 660 homes and yards have been flooded, around 150 people evacuated and dozens placed in temporary housing.
“We will help every victim, we will not leave anyone alone,” he was quoted as saying.
The Krasnodar region floods follow heavy rains battering the annexed Crimean peninsula late last month and earlier this month.
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