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Massive thunderstorm floods Kyiv

By Oleksii Chaharnyi.
Service vehicles clear water off one of the flooded roads in Kyiv on July 19, 2021, following an intense thunderstorm.
Photo by Kyiv City State Administration

An intense storm drowned parts of Kyiv on July 19, knocking out subway stations and submerging dozens of streets. 

According to the Hydrometeorological Center, surface water rose between 30 and 60 centimeters in the city, depending on neighborhood. Kyiv ordinarily receives 75 centimeters over a whole month.

As darkness covered the city at noon, Beresteiska and Academmistechko stations were flooded, halting train traffic and requiring passengers at the latter to be evacuated. 

Social media was inundated with hundreds of photos and videos of people and motor vehicles half-submerged in rainwater in roads, tunnels and underpasses in the capital. 

“Today, (Kyiv mayor) Vitali Klitschko turns 50,” quipped one Twitter user. “God cried from happiness so much that Kyiv got flooded.”

Low-lying districts like Podil, Vynohradar and Nyvky were hit especially hard. 

High winds also toppled trees throughout Kyiv, some of which fell across roads and broke trolley cables.  This plus the waterlogged conditions created transportation delays throughout the capital. Three hundred road workers were mobilized to help clear the floods. 

Major flooded streets included included Oleny Telihy Street, Akademika Palladina Avenue, Pobedy Prospekt and Avtozavodska Street. Vyshorodska and Pravdy Avenues resembled rivers.  

Meteorologists told the media that extreme weather will become more likely due to climate change. 

Experts added that Kyiv’s outdated drainage systems were overwhelmed by the storm. 

“The sewage system in Kyiv was physically incapable to take on that much water,” the Kyiv City State Administration said, in a statement.

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