The Istanbul Governor’s Office said two people died in the heavy rain and storm that hit the city on Wednesday. Between 6 a.m. and 8 p.m., the disaster agency AFAD and the 112 emergency call center received a total of 2,518 calls, according to the governor’s office.
Two lives lost
In Fatih, a 14-year-old identified as M.I. was electrocuted after stepping into a puddle in Çukurbostan Park in Balat; the child was taken to hospital unconscious and could not be saved. In Sarıyer’s Ayazağa neighborhood, a 34-year-old identified as S.Y. slipped while trying to cross floodwater on Dereboyu Street and hit his head on the curb. Pulled from the water by bystanders, he died at Seyrantepe Hamidiye Etfal Hospital. Investigations have been opened into both deaths.
1,277 flooding reports
According to the governor’s office, 1,277 of the calls concerned flooding, 47 people trapped, 15 landslides, 13 fallen trees and two roofs blown off. The reports involved 808 homes, 280 workplaces and 76 vehicles. AFAD set up a crisis desk in Istanbul, and 8,000 personnel and 2,000 vehicles and machines were deployed.
About 200 workers trapped in workplaces on Kemerburgaz Street in Ayazağa were evacuated. In Merter, stranded residents were rescued with the bucket of an excavator, and a female driver trapped in her car in the Turgut Özal underpass in Bahçelievler was also rescued with heavy machinery.
Cars piled up in Sarıyer
In Sarıyer’s Ayazağa neighborhood, cars swept away by floodwater crashed into each other and into buildings and ended up stacked on top of one another. Aerial footage showed more than 50 vehicles wrecked. Water also flooded the multistory car park of a shopping mall in Sarıyer.
Historic Sadabad Mosque under water
The overflowing Kağıthane Stream flooded the historic Sadabad Mosque, built in the era of Sultan Ahmed III. Water also collected at the Esenler, Zincirlikuyu and Topkapı metro stations and in several underpasses.
43 flights unable to land
The Transport and Infrastructure Ministry said 43 aircraft that could not land at Istanbul Airport because of the weather were diverted to other airports: 16 to Ankara Esenboğa, 10 to İzmir Adnan Menderes, eight to Sabiha Gökçen, two each to Balıkesir Koca Seyit and Çanakkale and one to Antalya. Abroad, two flights were diverted to Burgas and one each to Tehran and Athens. Landings were also halted for a time at Sabiha Gökçen because of strong winds.
Schools in Istanbul were closed on Thursday. The governor’s office said rain was expected to affect the Asian side in particular on Thursday and urged residents to stay out of basements and away from stream beds and underpasses.
