Sudden floods in the city of Odessa, in southern Ukraine, killed nine people, including a family of five people who were dragged from their apartment, emergency services reported on Wednesday after a day of torrential rain.
Teams worked at night to rescue about 362 people and pump water from buildings, reported the service in the Telegram Message Application, and published photos of passengers being removed from a flooded bus and cars being removed from the water.
“So far, nine people, including a child, have died,” the service said.
A family of five people who lived in an apartment on the ground floor of a building was dragged by the water and could not escape, the emergency service spokeswoman for, Maryna Aveina, told Ukrainian television.
Three other women died as they walked down a street, Avelina added.
“In just seven hours, almost two months of rain fell in Odessa,” said Mayor Hennadiy Trukhanov on Telegram. “No rainwater drainage system can support such load.”
Governor Oleh Kiper stated that the region suffers from torrential rain for the second consecutive day, which flooded roads, caused energy cuts, damaged properties and overthrew trees.
More than 500 workers were involved in rescue efforts, he said. He added that 42,000 customers in 32 towns and cities in the region were still temporarily without.
