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Warm, Rainy Moscow Weather Results in Sinkholes

A spell of unseasonably warm weather accompanied by rain has caused sections of a highway in northern Moscow to collapse into sinkholes, damaging at least half a dozen of cars, Russian news agencies reported Thursday.

Sinkholes formed in two lanes of Dmitrovskoye Shosse leading toward central Moscow and damaged the wheels of six cars, a spokesperson for the capital's traffic police was quoted as saying by the Moskva news portal. The Interfax news agency quoted an unidentified employee of the city's emergency services as saying 14 cars suffered ruptured tires and damaged rims.

No injuries were sustained, a spokesperson for Moscow's branch of the Emergency Situations Ministry was quoted by Interfax as saying. The spokesperson deemed the road damage “an insignificant pothole.”

After a period of frigid weather, temperatures in Moscow rose to about 2 degrees Celsius on Thursday, bringing continuous rain, according to a federal weather service report cited by Interfax.

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