Sochi, the future capital of the 2014 Winter Olympics, is one of the main travel destinations in Russia this season, as it hosts several Winter sports competitions with international participation. Tourists who visit the city in the near future, should be alerted that much of the Sochi area in Krasnodarskiy Kray is flooded, as a result of prolonged rains, which caused the water levels in the local rivers to rise.
Mudslides, descended from the Krasnaya Polyana mountains, blocked the roads, making access to sites under construction impossible for workers. At the Olympic construction site of Esto- Sadok hundreds of workers were evacuated this morning, after an early morning heavy rain, which washed away part of the dam on the river Mzymta. A bridge, built over the Kudepsta river to ease transportation and access at the Olympic sites, was also flooded. Earlier today, the peaceful Adler district of Sochi declared a state of emergency.
The threat of waters rising to dangerous elevations will affect other 28 rivers in the region, according to reports from Sochi. Forecasters predict large amounts of precipitation in the Krasnodar region, followed by over-wetting of the soil and danger of mudslides.