Dozens of cars were swept away and piled up after massive mudflows caused by heavy rainfall rocked a resort town in Crimea, videos on social media show. The chain of wrecked vehicles triggered a 10-km traffic jam on the local highway.

The town of Sudak and surrounding area in eastern Crimea were pounded by heavy rain on Friday evening. The town has around 16,000 residents, but the total number of people is higher in the summer due to the influx of tourists.

Селевой поток. Это только начало, дальше проехали далеко не все. #Судак #Крым #селевойпоток Публикация от Denis Yaroslavtsev (@denis.yaros) Авг 19 2017 в 3:00 PDT

The rain triggered flooding in areas near the Suuksu river, and a part of the highway from Sudak to Crimea’s capital, Simferopol was heavily eroded.

Ночь была пздц Публикация от Юрий (@goncharoff792) Авг 18 2017 в 10:09 PDT

At least 41 households were flooded, authorities say, adding that dozens, including children, have been evacuated.

Around 50 cars piled up in a 50-meter-long row on the Sudak-Simferopol highway. The vehicles were partially flooded due to the mudflows and rains. The pile-up caused a 10-km traffic jam on the highway, the town said.

On Saturday, authorities said that the town was in a state of emergency.

People, mostly tourists, shared photos of “the great flood” and its aftermath on social media.

“This is a nightmare! Look at the aftermath of the Sudak flood,” one person wrote on Instagram, adding an epic video.

Какой кошмар! Последствия дождя в Судаке! Публикация от Полина Захарченко (@apolinariya_sergeevna) Авг 19 2017 в 12:12 PDT

Another wrote “We were there [in Sudak] last night. We witnessed this horror! It was something scary.”

Another person said that lighting hit the sea shore “for half a day” on Friday.

Repost from @usman.qirimli1 последствия вчерашней ночи #крым #судак #qirim #instagood Публикация от Suleyman Samedín (@iamsuliko) Авг 19 2017 в 12:08 PDT

One woman released a photo of a completely flooded apartment. “When you come home and see that it has been raining [in the apartment],” she wrote ironically.

Когда пришел домой, а там дождик прошел.... Публикация от Анастасия (@sokoltsovaanastasiya) Авг 18 2017 в 2:35 PDT

“Some hours ago this place was a road, but now it is a mudflow,” another person wrote.



