The city of Yalta in Crimea has been completely closed after the Vodopadnaya River burst its banks and flooded the whole city. Yalta Mayor Yanina Pavlenko declared a state of emergency in the city.
“The entrance to the city has been completely closed, as floodwaters wash away vehicles and people. Thank God there are no casualties. I ask everyone to stay at home, do not go out ... We do not know what will happen in the next few hours, and we can only hope for the best,” Pavlenko said in a televised address to local residents.
The mayor asked all companies and businesses to send their employees home. The city has organized points for the evacuation of people.
Later Pavlenko announced that the city was preparing to cut off water supplies.
“I ask everyone to stock up on water in your apartments, because the whole region will be disconnected from water supplies soon. As soon as the schedules are prepared, we will publish them in the public domain ... Once again, I ask everyone to stay at home and not to panic,” she said in an address to the townspeople.
The press service of the Black Sea Fleet told RIA Novosti that heavy and off-road vehicles would soon be sent to the city to help Yalta deal with the aftermath of the flood.
Heavy downpours hit Crimea this week with about 30 mm of precipitation falling in the republic overnight. The center of the city of Kerch was also flooded. Heavy rains flooded most of the city of Yalta and the territory of the Krymenergo electricity company. Yalta saw 42 mm of rain in one night, which equal a monthly norm. According to weather forecasts, the rain will continue in the next 24 hours.