Turkey
A man stands on a roof waiting to be rescued by boat during flooding in Kucukcekmece district in Istanbul on September 5, 2023. Two people died on Tuesday in flash floods from torrential rains that turned the streets of Istanbul into rushing rivers, officials said. Photo: Yasin Akgul/AFP
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - At least two people were killed in floods that hit the streets of Istanbul after several hours of heavy rainfall on Tuesday night.
Istanbul Governor Davut Gul said the rainfall started around 9pm local time in the Basaksehir and Arnabutkoy districts in northern Istanbul and spread to other parts of the city shortly after, adding that two people had lost their lives.
Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said that 12 others were injured, adding that the ministry assigned medical teams and equipment to deal with the floods.
Turkey’s state media also reported that floods in Kirklaerli in the west of the country killed three people, while four others are missing.
“We have assigned 70 ambulances and 10 medical teams and 240 medical personnel regarding the issue [floods],” Koca said on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Footage shared on social media by locals showed the heavy rainfall flood the streets, making the use of public transportation difficult to use. Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu said during a presser that some metro stations have been closed.
Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya told journalists that a total of 1,220 houses, workplaces, and residential units have been affected by the heavy floods in five different districts of Istanbul.
“Unfortunately, such a huge amount of pouring in a short time resulted in the flooding of workplaces and house basements as a result of the flooding of the streams,” he said.
Turkey is not a stranger to flooding. In March a series of devastating floods hit Sanliurfa and Adiyaman provinces killing 21 people.
Floods have struck neighboring Bulgaria and Greece, with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis blaming flash floods on climate change. The storm comes several weeks after summer wildfires ravaged through parts of Greece and Turkey.
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