Flooding in Sochi linked with Olympic construction

The Sochi authorities claim that there is no danger to townspeople living near the Kepsha River. Activists have linked the flooding in Sochi with large-scale extraction of gravel from the river and the construction of Olympic facilities.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on February 28, Sochi authorities introduced the emergency situation regime in the Adler District after the rise of the water level in Kepsha because of mudflows and landslides. Experts reported a threat to people's lives.

Today, there is no threat to lives of residents of the dwelling settlement of Kepsha, while the river floods are quite common, Rimma Chernova, an employee of the press service of the Southern Regional Search and Rescue Detachment of the Russian Ministry for Emergencies (MfE), has assured the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

Pyotr, a local resident, has confirmed to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that no evacuation of residents of the settlement is needed.

However, he reminded about the extraction of gravel from the river that began in 2007. "The Kepsha River began rising to critical levels, when they started to ruthlessly extract gravel out of it. It was [during the preparation for the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi]," Pyotr told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on March 1, 2019 at 05:40 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.