Russia declares emergency in Dagestan’s capital as floods cut power to more than 327,000 people

Authorities in the capital of the southern Russian region of Dagestan declared a ​state of emergency on Saturday after heavy ‌rainfall led to widespread flooding and power cuts in the region.

“Emergency services have been placed on high alert, ​efforts are under way to deal with ​the aftermath, and assistance will be provided ⁠to affected residents,” the Makhachkala city administration ​said on Telegram.

More than 327,000 people remain without ​power in Dagestan due to bad weather, the regional ministry of emergency situations said.

“As of 12:00 (Moscow time, 0900 GMT), ​283 settlements with a population of 327,183 ​people, including 89,705 children, remain without electricity,” the ministry said ‌on ⁠its website.

The region’s head Sergei Melikov said that the emergency services and officials had been preparing for worsening weather conditions, but the actual situation “exceeded ​even the ​most pessimistic ⁠forecasts”.

Officials in Dagestan’s second-largest city of Khasavyurt said a railway bridge had ​been damaged due to heavy rainfall.

“Two ​spans ⁠of the bridge collapsed on the Khasavyurt–Kadiyurt section of the North Caucasus Railway,” Dagestan’s government press ⁠service ​said.

The heavy rain in the ​region is set to continue until Sunday, according to forecasts.