KIEV, Ukraine -- Russia's Black Sea city of Sochi, the host of last year’s Winter Olympic Games, is being pounded by torrential rains that have caused flash floods.
Local authorities are struggling to manage, as rain continues to pour down on the resort city for the second straight day, causing river levels to rise as much as 4 feet, Interfax news agency reported on Friday.
The extreme weather has brought rail, air and road traffic to a standstill, while streets have transformed into raging rivers. A video, below, shows several abandoned vehicles being swallowed up by torrents of water on one city street.
Several of Sochi's former Olympic facilities, as well as its Formula 1 racing track, also flooded.
Local media reported that emergency services dispatched at least 50 servicemen and nine all-terrain vehicles on Friday to evacuate residents from particularly hard-hit areas in Sochi and its surrounding villages. No casualties have been reported.
Типичный сочинский июнь надеюсь это не на долго #сочи Видео опубликовано Anastasia Taranova (@anastasia_taranova__) Июн 25 2015 в 6:13 PDT
#сочи #потоп Видео опубликовано Анастасия (@anastasia7166) Июн 25 2015 в 3:46 PDT
#Сочи #Потоп #аэропорт✈️ одним словом#жопа у нас Фото опубликовано #Sochi#საქართველო (@zhanna_bardavelidze) Июн 25 2015 в 3:43 PDT
#Сочи#потоп#ливень# Фото опубликовано Олег Найдёнов (@djnaydyonov) Июн 25 2015 в 3:35 PDT
А в #Сочи тем временем потоп кто не понял, это ж/д вокзал, ставший временно рекой друзья мои, приезжайте на курорты Краснодарского края здесь можно купаться даже в центре города #ПотопСочи А на самом деле страшно это все. Фото опубликовано Kseniya (@zimyanozhka) Июн 25 2015 в 3:46 PDT
Аэропорт Сочи pic.twitter.com/VwLm32tGw6— Mikhail Golub (@golub) June 25, 2015
Аэропорт "Адлер", cтоимость: 8,2 млрд рублей (Данные Forbes) pic.twitter.com/R9qElQko8p— Срочный по Северу (@flashnord) June 25, 2015
Кудепста сегодня. pic.twitter.com/8wba122BPO— Экология Сочи (@KudepstaTEPS) June 25, 2015
While some Sochi residents evacuated, others seized an opportunity to enjoy a leisurely float down city streets, and have some fun.
Видео опубликовано Pavel Agafonov (@pavel_agafonov) Июн 25 2015 в 1:19 PDT
#Sochi holidaymakers getting into the spirit of it all. h/t http://t.co/Ofti1lqqHh pic.twitter.com/ru85D3qfEs— Jason Corcoran (@jason_corcoran) June 25, 2015
Ничего себе в Сочах pic.twitter.com/LqKrvv9UU7— Alexey Navalny (@navalny) June 25, 2015
Some people raised concerns that Olympic construction atop what was a wetland area was partially causing the floods. The Russian government did not immediately comment on the situation.
Anybody connecting #Sochi flooding with Olympic construction? Filling in Imeretinsky wetlands had to mess up drainage pic.twitter.com/Ca3Uetqapq— Alec Luhn (@ASLuhn) June 25, 2015
And, of course, there were Putin memes.
Personally checking the depth of the flooding in Sochi. pic.twitter.com/HAY556aVKq— Vladimir Putin (@DarthPutinKGB) June 25, 2015
#Путин прибыл с рабочим визитом в #Сочи pic.twitter.com/R2TQ2LzkqM— Донбасс (@donsava) June 25, 2015
South of Sochi, in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi, severe floods last week killed at least 19 people, and caused considerable damage. Dozens of animals also escaped from the city's zoo, including a hippo that wandered the streets for hours, and tiger that killed a man before being shot dead.