People were swimming, cars were stopping: the infrastructure of Netishyn could not withstand the elements

On Monday evening, July 28, the city of Netishyn in Khmelnytskyi Oblast was hit by heavy rain. The rain flooded streets for several hours, and power was cut off in several areas. Residents actively shared videos showing water reaching waist-high in some places.

Many cars stopped in the middle of the road, and some had to be pulled out by hand. People were forced to walk through the streets knee-deep in water, as other options were unavailable. In the Nash Kray supermarket, water entered the sales area.

The heavy rainfall also affected neighboring settlements — Kryvyn, Ostroh, and Slavuta, where flooding and power outages were also observed.

Residents of Netishyn report that the rain continued without a break for more than three hours. At one point, a rumble of thunder was heard, after which the city lost power.

The current situation shows that the city’s infrastructure is not sufficiently prepared for such natural disasters. The storm sewer system is in a neglected state, has not been modernized initially, and many areas are even deprived of a drainage system. This leads to the fact that water remains on the surface.

This is not the first time residents have encountered flooding problems, and each downpour has led to similar consequences, but this time the scale was much larger.

Infrastructure expert Volodymyr Rudyk notes that most drainage systems in Ukraine, in particular in Netishyn, were created back in Soviet times and are not designed for the current volume of precipitation. Without updating, these systems cannot withstand the load.

The problem is further complicated by the fact that many storm drains are clogged with garbage. The city authorities do not ensure regular cleaning of the system, which turns even a small downpour into a serious threat to road users.

At the time of publication, the authorities of Netishyn had not provided official data on the extent of the damage. It is also unknown whether measures are planned to check the condition of the storm infrastructure.