Death toll from devastating floods in Turkey's north rises to 77

Duvar English

Flash floods that have swept through towns in the Turkish Black Sea region have killed 77 people, in the second natural disaster to strike Turkey this month.

The floods brought chaos to northern provinces just as authorities were declaring wildfires had been brought under control after raging through southern coastal regions for two weeks.

Forty-eight people died as a result of floods in Kastamonu province, another nine people died in Sinop and one in Bartın, the Disaster and Emergency Management Directorate (AFAD) said.

Drone footage by Reuters showed massive damage in the town of Bozkurt in Kastamonu province. Emergency workers were searching demolished buildings for the missing.

Torrents of water tossed dozens of cars and heaps of debris along streets, destroyed buildings and bridges, closed roads and cut off electricity to hundreds of villages.

More than 2,000 people were evacuated from affected areas, some with the help of helicopters and boats, AFAD said. 

There are missing individuals, Turkish Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu said after examinations in Bozkurt alongside Environment and Urbanization Minister Murat Kurum and Energy and Natural Resources Minister Fatih Dönmez.

Kurum said there are at least 454 severely damaged and ruined buildings in the three provinces. 

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Aug. 13 said that the places affected by the floods were declared disaster areas.