From 1995 until 2004, the city of St. Petersburg was divided because of a so-called razmyv (flood) of metro tunnels in the northern part of the city. For about 500,000 people living there, it caused significant issues in their everyday lives and the problem was only resolved nine years later. This incident demonstrates the continuous impact of the environment on technological systems within urban infrastructures and illustrates how the issue, given the lack of crisis management, can disrupt the everyday workings of an entire metropolis.