Terrified residents were forced to climb onto car roofs as boiling water gushed through a residential street, creating a surreal and dangerous scene.
Footage shared on social media shows steaming water erupting violently from a ruptured pipe, flooding the area and stranding vehicles.
In the dramatic clip, one car is seen with its hazard lights flashing, while an elderly man can be spotted standing on the hood of his car for safety.
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Another man, caught in the chaos, is shown climbing out of his car window to take refuge on the roof.
The person filming can be heard exclaiming, “It’s an apocalypse,” underscoring the chaotic and alarming nature of the incident.
The social media post accompanying the video detailed the harrowing ordeal of a 70-year-old man trapped in the floodwaters after his car collided with a taxi.
He managed to escape by climbing onto his car’s roof and then onto a nearby truck but sustained burns to his legs.
Fortunately, doctors later described his condition as lucky given the circumstances. However, the taxi’s driver and passenger were less fortunate and remained hospitalized following the incident.
The alarming event took place in St. Petersburg, Russia, after an underground heating pipe burst in the early hours of Tuesday, November 26.
The ruptured pipe, which had been part of a worn-out heating system, unleashed boiling water across a 2,000-square-meter area in the Krasnoselsky district.
The flood injured three people, left dozens of homes without heat, and disrupted the lives of many in the neighborhood.
The city’s heating grid operator revealed that the damaged pipe was due for repairs next year.
However, reports indicate that this particular pipeline has failed multiple times in recent years, with similar ruptures occurring in 2013, 2017, and 2021.
This incident adds to a string of infrastructure-related disasters in Russia this year.
Just months ago, in April, a dam burst in the Orenburg region, releasing torrents of water from Europe’s third-longest river and flooding the city of Orsk.
That catastrophe forced the evacuation of over 4,000 people, including nearly 900 children, after the Ural River swelled far beyond its capacity, submerging at least 6,000 homes.
Officials later reported that the dam, designed to handle water levels of up to 5.5 meters, was overwhelmed as the river surged to a staggering 9.6 meters.
While flooding is not typically associated with Russia, these back-to-back incidents have underscored vulnerabilities in aging infrastructure, raising concerns about the readiness of local authorities to handle such crises.
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SOURCE: Burned homeowners clamber onto car roofs after BOILING water floods residential street
