Bismil, a district of Diyarbakir province is one of the areas hardest hit by the floodwater, where dozens of houses and shops were damaged, yet locals express happiness at the fact that no lives were lost.
Haji Nuri Demircan 90, a local resident affected by the flood, says he has never seen such heavy rainfall all his life.
"I am turning 90 and I have never seen such torrential rain that I witnessed last night [November 20]. Yes, there is nothing left of us. Everything was gone," Demircan said.
Heavy rainstorms and floods killed nine people across Turkey, the country’s interior minister announced on Monday.
Several areas across Turkey were struck by heavy rainstorms and flooding on Sunday, the severity of the weather conditions causing a Turkish cargo ship to sink off the Black Sea coast in the country’s northern province of Zonguldak. Of the 12 crew members on board, only one body was retrieved, with the rest remaining missing.
Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said four people died in Batman, one in Diyarbakir and three in Zonguldak, in addition to the cargo ship crew member.
Zulaikha Demircan, another resident of Bismil affected by the flood recalled when the flooding started she "closed the door and put a table to block the floodwater, but the water was coming in until this morning. I was awake."
Bismil’s civil defense teams have begun a search operation examining all the houses and public buildings that were flooded, clearing them of litter and mud.
Some people who have yet to receive assistance from the government have taken matters into their own hands, clearing their houses of litter.
"No one has come yet, not even the municipality. We are cleaning with our own means," Mihmesah Koluman, a local who was damaged by floodwater, lamented.
Turkey's intelligence and emergency agency, Afad, issued a high-risk warning for Diyarbakir on Sunday and Monday. According to forecasts, from Tuesday onwards the weather conditions in Diyarbakir and its districts will return to normal.
Turkey is no stranger to flooding. In September two people were killed in floods that hit the streets of Istanbul following several hours of heavy rainfall.
In March, a series of devastating floods hit Sanliurfa and Adiyaman provinces killing 21 people.
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