As if a global pandemic and months of quarantine weren’t enough to drown our spirits, Moscow was hit with heavy rains and hail over the weekend, leading to flash floods that flooded streets and passageways.
While two people are reported to have been hit by lightning during the storm, Muscovites nonetheless trudged through the weather and documented the sight on social media.
Here’s a closer look at the Moscow monsoon:
Moscow’s deputy mayor for housing and communal services Pyotr Biryukov attributed the flooding to heavy rains and foliage blocking the city’s sewers.
Moscow’s southern districts were hit particularly hard, with 70% of the city’s monthly rainfall falling in the span of a few hours there, the state-run TASS news agency quoted Biryukov as saying.
It takes teamwork to push a flooded car onto a dryer part of the street.
The flooding did nothing to help Moscow’s notorious traffic, with the Meduza news website reporting that city traffic was backed up for several kilometers in the evening.
Don’t stand too close to the road, lest you end up with soaked feet like this unlucky Muscovite.
It’s not a scene from “Titanic” — it’s just Moscow.
This is not the first time that widespread flooding has drawn the ire of the city’s residents. In 2016, heavy rains during a period of citywide construction caused flooding. Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said the floods had been caused by construction debris clogging the city’s sewers.
Several cars became stuck in the flash flooding, but Moscow’s Center for Traffic Management has since stated that all major flooding affecting transport has been dealt with.