Following warnings from the Turkish State Meteorological Service, heavy rain that began affecting Istanbul yesterday evening caused water to accumulate on streets and roads. Several underpasses, homes and businesses were flooded.
School retaining wall collapses in Sultangazi
The retaining wall of Nurettin Uzun Primary School in Sultangazi’s Eski Habibler neighborhood collapsed under the downpour. Students were in their classrooms at the time and no one was in the schoolyard. The area was closed to traffic and crews began working in the schoolyard.
According to Istanbul’s Disaster Coordination Center (AKOM), 50 to 95 kilograms of rain per square meter fell in Beykoz, Sarıyer, Eyüpsultan, Arnavutköy, Başakşehir, Sultangazi and Büyükçekmece. Footage from Başakşehir’s İkitelli and from Sarıyer showed floodwater surging along roads.
Flooding hit several districts
Several businesses were flooded in the Haramidere Industrial Zone in Esenyurt. Vehicles became stranded on a waterlogged road in Başakşehir’s İkitelli district, while pedestrians also struggled to make their way through.
Roads filled with water in Sultangazi, where residents sought shelter under awnings to protect themselves from the rain. Crowding formed at bus stops, while the rainfall also disrupted students’ transportation.
A building’s basement was flooded in Cebeci Mahallesi. Firefighters dispatched to the area after a report responded to the incident, which caused property damage. Several vehicles also became stranded in an underpass filled with water in the same neighborhood.
A basement in a building on Gonca Street in Büyükçekmece’s Hürriyet Mahallesi was also flooded. Students had difficulty entering and leaving Büyükçekmece Anatolian High School because of water accumulating at the garden entrance; some students placed benches side by side and walked across them.
Drivers struggled to proceed along the route between Tokatköy and the Akbaba-Dereseki road in Beykoz because of water accumulation. In Sarıyer’s İstinye Mahallesi, roads filled with water, disrupting transportation, while residents had difficulty crossing to the other side.
Person trapped in flooded apartment rescued
Following the heavy rain, the basement apartment of a three-story building on Engin Street in Küçükçekmece’s Atatürk Mahallesi was flooded. Five people living in the apartment got out on their own.
After one person reentered the apartment to get medicine and became trapped inside, firefighters, medical teams and police officers were dispatched to the scene. Divers and teams from the National Medical Rescue Team were also sent to the address. The trapped person was rescued after the operation.
Water that had accumulated in the lower floors of the building was seen flowing into the water channel next to the structure.
Traffic congestion increased in the morning
Rain caused traffic congestion on both the Asian and European sides of the city in the morning. On the Asian side, congestion that began in Tuzla on the D-100 highway extended to the entrance of the Eurasia Tunnel.
Traffic that intensified in Sultanbeyli on the TEM Highway continued as far as the 15 July Martyrs Bridge. Congestion extended to the entrance of the bridge in the direction of the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge, while vehicles moved slowly between Altunizade and Ümraniye on the Şile Highway.
On the European side, congestion was observed in both directions on the D-100 highway around Merter, Cevizlibağ and Ayvansaray. Traffic also slowed in both directions on the Bayrampaşa TEM link road, the O-3 road and the Tekstilkent and Metris Prison sections of the TEM Highway.
Traffic slowed around the Golden Horn Bridge, Halıcıoğlu, Edirnekapı and Cevizlibağ on the D-100 highway. Congestion in both directions was recorded in Mecidiyeköy, while vehicles moved with difficulty on the Bahçeşehir, Saadetdere and Beylikdüzü sections of the TEM Highway and in the Büyükçekmece-Beylikdüzü direction of the D-100 highway.
Passenger congestion also formed at tram, metro, bus and metrobüs stops. Residents waited in line to board vehicles at the Zincirlikuyu, Cevizlibağ, Uzunçayır and Altunizade transfer hubs.
According to data from the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality’s Cep Trafik Map, traffic congestion across the city reached 72% in the morning. Congestion was measured at 83% on the Asian side and 67% on the European side.
