Just weeks before the Azerbaijani capital Baku hosts an annual UN climate conference, days of heavy rain have resulted in widespread flooding in the city, causing significant property damage and at least two deaths.

The rains overwhelmed Baku’s drainage infrastructure, inundating large portions of the city and leaving many roads impassable. In one instance, passengers trapped inside a bus had to be rescued with a rope. The hardest hit area was the Sabunchu District, where two people drowned after being caught by floodwaters in a tunnel, according to the Ministry of Emergency Situations.

With participants in the COP29 climate conference due to start arriving in the city in early November, local officials are linking the flooding to climate change. “This, in some sense, is a natural disaster. It is in front of our eyes: there has been rainfall above norms,” the head of the Baku City Executive, Eldar Azizov, told reporters. “Now we must analyze the situation as to why an unpleasant situation has emerged in some areas. Maybe some mistakes were made during construction. In any case, it is still too early to give an unequivocal assessment.” 

Although the rainfall stopped on October 22, residents are still grappling with the consequences. Some city residents and activists took to social media to highlight the irony of Baku’s selection as a host city for a climate conference when the municipal infrastructure can’t handle a climate-change related disaster.

“The city is paralyzed,” one Facebook user wrote. 

An opposition political activist, Ilham Huseyn, derided the government for lavish spending on cosmetic improvements to the city for COP29 and other, earlier events, including Formula-1 races and athletic competitions, while underspending on essential infrastructure. The tunnel where the two flooding-related deaths occurred was built in 2020. An official who attended its opening told journalists at the time that a pump station was built in the tunnel to handle “rain and ground water removal.”

“They [officials] spent billions on these projects,” Huseyn wrote, referring to Baku’s beautification efforts. “But they did not try to solve the most elementary problems, they did not spend a dime for the welfare of citizens.”

President Ilham Aliyev said on October 22 that final preparations are almost complete. “Despite having less than a year to finalize the arrangements, Azerbaijan is making every effort to ensure the successful hosting of COP29 at the highest level,” he said.