SOCHI, June 24. /TASS/. Heavy rains and rising river levels resulted in about 50 houses in Sochi getting flooded and cars being washed away into the sea, the city administration said on Friday.
"Last night, heavy precipitation caused the level of a number of rivers in the Lazarevsky district to surge. As a result, about 50 households in Kichmai, Soloniki, Tkhagapsha, Golovinka, Bolshoi Kichmai and Zubovaya Schel were flooded," the administration’s statement said.
Meanwhile, the press service of the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry reported that two cars were swept away into the sea in the Krasnodar Region.
"As a result of heavy rains in the mountainous area near the Zubovaya Schel settlement in the Krasnodar Region, a stream of water from the Chemitokvadzhe River swept two passenger cars into the Black Sea. According to preliminary information, the cars might have been carrying seven people," the Emergencies Ministry said.
The Krasnodar Region’s Prosecutor's Office reported eight victims from the incident with one dead and another rescued, while the search for five more missing people continues. It also pointed out that, according to the preliminary data, three children could have been in the vehicles. The prosecutor’s office also said that it had launched an inquiry into the incident.
Meanwhile, rescuers are continuing their search for the missing, an Emergencies Ministry’s Ka-32 helicopter and a rescue boat Valery Zamaraev are involved.
"At present, the water level in the rivers is beginning to decrease. A storm warning is in effect for the third day in Sochi," the press service of the administration reported.
A day earlier, the Krasnodar Region’s Emergencies Ministry units were put on alert due to the bad weather. Tornadoes and floods are known to occur in the region.