Oddity CentralA water main burst during an ice cold storm in the small Siberian town of Dudinka, causing the streets to promptly freeze into solid blocks of ice. The water that had burst out of several broken pipes flooded the streets, and subsequently froze as temperatures dropped to -40C during the night. When residents emerged from their homes after the storm was over, they found their town had completely frozen over.
Although several homes had no water or electricity during and immediately after the storm, many of the 22,000 Dudinka residents still had access to the internet, so they were able to share shocking images of their frozen streets on social media. Some of the photos show vehicles encased in four-foot thick ice, with only the tops visible, while others show massive icicles clinging to building exteriors.
The pictures have been shared several times on social media, and have attracted several comments from awe-struck users. “Even if you can get the engine started, those cars aren’t going anywhere. Heck, you won’t even be able to get the doors open!” one user wrote.
“You could freeze a banana and use it to hammer nails,” another joked.
Local government spokesperson Eugene Gerasimov said that officials had declared a state of emergency. “Anybody in doubt of exactly how cold it is here just need to look at the pictures,” he said. “Even the hot water pipes were freezing, and the water that flooded out quickly formed into a solid block.”
via Daily Mail