The southern Ukrainian city of Odesa was hit by a heavy storm on the night of July 22, which knocked out power, submerged dozens of streets and blocked the airport.
According to the Hydrometeorological Center, 31 millimeters of precipitation fell in Odesa in an hour and wind gusts reached 20 meters per second.
The downpour started at about 2 o’clock at night. The most famous Odesa streets such as French Boulevard and Deribasovskaya were flooded, with parked cars being submerged up to the windshield.
“The storm sewers lacked the capacity to deal with the heavy rainfall” the Odesa city hall said, in a statement.
#Одесса Одессу накрыл мощный циклон: затоплены десятки авто, людей сбивали потоки воды – https://t.co/aAH9lUgLJt pic.twitter.com/pws3mQaMnX
— Культурометр (@culturemeter_od) July 22, 2021
People posted photos and videos of vehicles and building entrances overwhelmed by water.
Due to poor visibility and heavy rain in Odesa, planes could not land and were diverted to other airports.
The Odesa city hospital №8 was flooded with water due to the poorly maintained roof, according to staff. Malynovskyi district court lost power and was temporarily closed.
High winds also toppled trees throughout Odesa, some of which blocked roads and broke cables, hindering transportation. Gravel and sand deposits appeared on Balkivska and Primorska streets. Over a hundred road workers were mobilized to help clear the floods.
Workers pumped out water throughout the night, but a number of streets still remain flooded, including Otamana Holovatoho, Otamana Chepiga and Mechnykova street.
Heavy rainstorms swept through Ukraine over the past week, causing floods in multiple cities including Kyiv.
