Severe flooding hits Russia’s Vladivostok as torrential rain swamps city PHOTO / VIDEO

Severe flooding has hit the Russian city of Vladivostok, with torrents of water washing away sidewalks and stairways, cars becoming submerged in flooded pits, and entrances and apartments inundated in residential buildings.

A torrential downpour battered Vladivostok overnight, leaving residents wading through waist-deep water to get home and abandoning their cars, while schoolchildren sought refuge on benches at bus stops.

At the Onyx residential complex on Tretya Rabochaya Street, floodwaters tore out a fire hydrant and inundated corridors and several apartments.

In the Tikhaya Bay area, several cars were submerged, with their owners attempting to recover them with the help of tow trucks. On Nekrasovsky overpass, muddy floodwaters blocked several lanes beneath Druzhby Bridge.

Meanwhile, on Sportivnaya Street, a river overflowed its banks and flooded tram tracks, causing delays to tram services.

The flooding has also disrupted water supplies in several parts of the city, with at least 43 streets currently without cold water. Residents have been urged to stock up on water, while a heightened state of emergency has been declared in the city due to the adverse weather.

By Tamilla Hasanova