Ex-Olympic City of Sochi Hit by Flash Floods: State of Emergency Declared

City administrators have introduced a state of emergency in three districts of the city most severely affected by flooding, including Central, Adler and Khostinsky. The areas most heavily affected by the flooding face evacuation.

Photos and videos from the scene show the extent of the flooding.

(Adler)

(Sochi International Airport)

Russian Railways has halted all trains to Adler Station, and Sochi's International Airport has reported the flooding, combined with poor weather conditions, have made both ingoing and outgoing flights difficult to organize.

Local emergency services are reported to have dispatched over four dozen troops equipped with all-terrain vehicles to the city center and to remote villages in the area to assist with the evacuation.

Residents in areas of the city have told Russian media that water, gas and electricity has been temporarily shut off.

(Adler Rail Terminal)

The mayor's office official press service warned that over the next several hours it does not rule out the possibility of waterspouts rising up from the sea and crashing onto the coast, and is subsequently asking residents and guests of the resort city to stay in their homes and to avoid areas near the coast.

Meteorologists expect heavy rainfall to continue for about one more day.

Last week, severe flooding in the Georgian capital of Tblisi resulted in the deaths of 19 people, and caused extensive damage to the city. Heavy rainfall has also affected areas of Russia's Krasnodar region over the past few days, with meteorologists expecting the weather to clear up in the near future.