Heavy rains, floods hit northwest Türkiye

KASTAMONU

Heavy rainfalls and downpours have hit Türkiye’s north and northwestern provinces, causing rivers to overflow and bridges to collapse as authorities struggled to evacuate stranded locals.

Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu stated that a resident in the Küre district in the Black Sea province of Kastamonu and a digger operator went missing.

“Our search and rescue efforts continue,” the minister said.

“We do not have any loss of life. Our citizens have sustained material damages, and we are trying to repair those damages quickly,” Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Minister Murat Kurum said, adding that the works are continuing intensively.

“Some 130 citizens were evacuated as a result of the notifications. However, there are 118 villages we could not reach,” said Kurum while stating that there were floods in the Black Sea provinces of Kastamonu, Bartın, Sinop and Zonguldak due to heavy rains.

The flood that occurred after the downpour caused a part of the Kastamonu-Ankara highway to collapse.

In the flood that occurred in Kastamonu’s Bozkurt district, the ground floors of some houses submerged. Authorities evacuated stranded locals and said a potentially deadly disaster was averted because residents followed meteorological warnings.

“All our units working within the framework of our disaster plan, which includes sheltering, search and rescue and damage assessment, started to work quickly under the coordination of [the Presidency of Disaster and Emergency Management] AFAD throughout Kastamonu,” Kurum said.

AFAD said more than 2,550 personnel were deployed in the provinces affected by the rains and that dozens were evacuated.

Meanwhile, in the northwestern province of Bolu, a shopping center was damaged heavily as a result of flooding.

A landslide occurred on a highway in the direction of Istanbul and disrupted traffic for a while. Traffic teams closed the highway for a short time and directed the people to the city center. However, the torrential rain caused the rivers to overflow in the city center, flooding houses and working places.

The downpour also negatively disrupted the daily life and traffic in the Yeniçağa, Dörtdivan, Gerede and Mengen districts. In Mengen, many houses in the region submerged in water as the streams and creeks overflowed.

The evacuation of citizens has begun, authorities said.

Several working places and houses submerged as a river in the Alaplı district of Zonguldak overflowed. The road connecting the Alaplı and Gümeli districts was closed due to the landslide.

In the Devrek district, on the other hand, the village of Eğerci was affected by floods.

In Bartın, 135 houses and workplaces submerged as water surged from a nearby river. The downpour, continuing for five days in the city, caused puddles on the streets, making it difficult to drive vehicles. Bridges and roads in the city center were also flooded.

In the Yenice district of Karabük, the water level in the creek rose and two buildings on the edge of the creek collapsed. Roads were closed due to landslides at some points.

In the Türkeli district of Sinop, the torrential rain caused flooding. While some houses were flooded, village roads were damaged. In the Ayancık district, which experienced floods last year, three villages were evacuated.