Sunday 20 June 2021

Two missing, 24 injured in Yalta after heavy rains — mayor

Crimea was battered by torrential rains and gusts of the northwest wind.

SIMFEROPOL, June 20. /TASS/. Two people remain unaccounted for and 24 were injured after floods caused by torrential rains in the Crimean city of Yalta, Mayor Yanina Pavlenko said.

"24 [people have been injured], two are missing and one dead. None of them are tourists. All injuries are slight ones," she said.

According to earlier reports, 19 people were injured and one was killed. A woman was reported as missing, a search for her is under way.

On Thursday night, Crimea was battered by torrential rains and gusts of the northwest wind. A regional state of emergency was declared. The floods hit the resort city of Kerch and eastern regions of the peninsula. In the south of Crimea, the city of Yalta faced over 135 mm of precipitation. Yanina Pavlenko, the head of Yalta’s administration, said that the city had not witnessed such heavy rain since 1922, when the city had over 190 mm of precipitation. As many as 26,200 customers were left without electricity.

As a result, hundreds of houses all over the republic were damaged. 13 hotels were flooded in Yalta, with evacuation ordered in two of them. Beach infrastructure was damaged as well. At the moment, post-disaster recovery efforts are under way in many areas, including works to clear debris and resume electricity, water and gas supplies.

Source: ITAR-TASS 20-06-2021