On 19 October, rescue teams recovered a further two bodies following the floods in Istanbul and Kocaeli, in north-western Turkey, bringing the death toll in these two provinces to 8, whilst the emergency services continue to search for one person missing in Istanbul.
The severe flooding that hit Istanbul on 14 October, following the worst rainfall in 83 years with up to 273.1 litres per square metre in some parts of the city, has raised the death toll in Istanbul to six following the discovery of the body of Haşim Ciritlioğlu, a man who had gone missing during the floods.
The death toll rose to eight across Istanbul and the neighbouring province of Kocaeli after Doğan Arslan was found in the latter; his companion, Fatih Demirtaş, had previously been found after being swept away by the current in an off-road vehicle, an incident captured on CCTV.
Whilst the search continues for another person, Ahmet Derin, who also went missing in Istanbul, the city’s governor, Davut Gül, reported on the material damage caused by the torrential rain that has ravaged the region. He explained that some 2,000 homes and 900 commercial premises have suffered serious damage.
The Turkish news website T24 reported that the payment of compensation for the damage is expected to begin today. In addition, 5,200 of those affected have already received emergency aid of 10,000 Turkish liras – around 180 euros – whilst another 2,500 people are set to receive the same amount shortly.
Six people killed in Istanbul due to torrential rains
The flooding in Istanbul claimed the life of Mahmut Işıldak, a 14-year-old boy, on the first day of torrential rain; he died from electrocution after stepping into a puddle in the Balat neighbourhood, in the Fatih district. Similarly, on Dereboyu Street in Sarıyer, a 34-year-old man, identified by the initials S.Y., lost his life after falling into the water and suffering a head injury.
A person whose body was found near the stream beside Sadabad Park in Kâğıthane was later identified as Ahmet Usta, a 56-year-old man. Rescue teams also located the body of a man identified as Turgut Dursun under a bridge in the Ayazağa neighbourhood, one of the areas hardest hit by the floods, thereby raising the death toll in Istanbul to four.
Subsequently, the death toll rose to six following confirmation of the death of Murat Babajanov, a 30-year-old citizen of Turkmenistan who had gone missing during the floods in Ayazağa, and following the discovery in the last few hours of the body of another man, Haşim Ciritlioğlu.
Two dead after their vehicle was swept away by the current in Kocaeli
In addition to the fatalities in Istanbul, an SUV fell into a river during the night of 17 October in the Kadıllı neighbourhood, part of the Gebze district in Kocaeli.
The vehicle was swept away by the floodwaters and although Mustafa Deniz Ertaş, one of its occupants, managed to escape by smashing a window and clinging to a tree branch, the other two occupants, identified as Fatih Demirtaş and Doğan Arslan, were swept away by the current.
During the search operation that followed, teams located the body of Fatih Demirtaş yesterday in the district of Pendik, on the outskirts of Istanbul, whilst this morning the body of Doğan Arslan was found in the same area.
In this regard, the Governor of Istanbul, Davut Gül, had previously suggested that the people reported missing in Gebze (Kocaeli) might have been swept downstream to Pendik; consequently, the search teams were combing a 17-kilometre stretch of the river and had also extended the search to the sea, with the assistance of diving teams and the Coastguard.
Thousands affected by the floods
In his initial statements, Turkey’s Interior Minister, Mustafa Çiftçi, reported that the floods had forced the evacuation of 2,727 people, later stating that 9,850 distress calls had been received. He also noted that 46,000 personnel had been deployed in Istanbul and a total of around 60,000 across all the affected areas.
In Şile, on the northern coast of Istanbul, aerial images show roads and entire neighbourhoods flooded, whilst affected residents recall that this is not the first time flooding has occurred and are calling on the authorities to find a solution. “It’s terrible to experience something like this. We thought we were going to die. It wasn’t a river, it was like the sea. We were all very scared. Something needs to be done about this river; we suffer this constantly whenever it rains,” said a local resident.
Meanwhile, in the Istanbul neighbourhood of Ayazağa, one of the areas hardest hit by the floods, work is continuing on clearing up, assessing the damage and restoring the riverbeds. Governor Davut Gül visited the affected areas in the last few hours to oversee the removal of rubble, the clean-up operations and the areas where demolition of buildings damaged by the storm is taking place.
“So far, six of our fellow citizens have died,” the Governor of Istanbul told journalists this morning after inspecting the areas affected by the floods. “One of our fellow citizens remains missing and the search is continuing. Rainfall has eased on the European side and has now stopped. On the Asian side, particularly in Şile, the rain had a significant impact. Many homes and businesses were flooded in Şile,” said Gül.
VOTE
EDITORIAL TEAM
🧿 About us
.
Edited and reviewed by:
Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
…
📣 Your ADVERTISING on Hispanatolia
.
🤗 HELP US WITH A DONATION:
💗 Paypal
