Turkey's 'most severe flood disaster' claims at least 27 lives

Duvar English - Reuters 

Flash floods which have swept through towns in the Turkish Black Sea region have killed 27 people, the Disaster and Emergency Management Directorate (AFAD) said on Aug. 13, in the second natural disaster to strike Turkey this month.

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

Twenty-five people died as a result of the floods in the province of Kastamonu and another two people died in Sinop, AFAD said.

Searches continued for a missing 80-year-old woman in the province of Bartın.

Speaking in Bozkurt late on Aug. 12, Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu described the scenes as “the most severe flood disaster I have seen" and said that the town had been "divided into two." 

"We can say that it is five times worse than the disaster we faced in [Giresun]'s Dereli district. The area of impact is wide here. Also the risk our citizens is facing is high," he said. 

More than 1,700 people were evacuated from affected areas, some with the help of helicopters and boats, AFAD said.

Helicopters lowered coast guard personnel onto the roofs of buildings to rescue people who were stranded as flood water swept through the streets, footage shared by the Interior Ministry showed.

The deluge damaged power infrastructure, leaving about 330 villages without electricity. Five bridges had collapsed and many others were damaged, leading to road closures, AFAD added. Parts of the roads were also swept away.

Television footage showed the floods dragging dozens of cars and heaps of debris along the streets.

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