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More than 10 dead as floods hit Turkey’s Black Sea provinces-UPDATED-1

12 August 2021 17:58 (UTC +04:00)

This week’s floods in Turkey’s Black Sea region have claimed at least eleven lives, and at least one person is missing, officials said on Aug. 12, APA reports citing Hurriyet Daily News.

Floods due to heavy rains hit the northern Black Sea region on Aug. 12, leaving nine people dead in the Kastamonu province and one missing in the Bartin province, said the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD).

Rescue and relief teams have been deployed to flood-hit areas, and the search for the missing is ongoing, according to officials.

While evacuations of some areas continue, the Turkish Red Crescent is also on the scene to help people affected by the natural disaster.

Two people died in a landslide caused by flooding in Çatalzeytin district in Kastamonu province, according to a statement by the Çatalzeytin municipality.

In Ulus district of Bartın province, one of the hardest-hit areas, Arife Ünal, 85, went missing after her house was destroyed. Teams from the Gendarmerie, Coast Guard and Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) along with residents are continuing the search.

Floods also damaged homes and businesses while sweeping away vehicles in Bartın.

Thirteen people were also injured when their vehicles overturned due to a collapsed bridge. They were taken to nearby hospitals.

The disaster agency said there were power outages in a dozen villages in Ulus district.

A public hospital in Ayancık district in Sinop province was also evacuated, according to AFAD.

Meanwhile, 19 people who were stranded in their homes due to heavy rains in Ayancık were rescued by two helicopters, the Coast Guard Command said in a statement.

*** 16:08

Nine people swept away by floodwaters were killed in Kastamonu province while the search is underway for another person missing in Bartın, as torrential rains triggered floods in the central Black Sea region, APA reports citing Daily Sabah.

Heavy rainfall late Tuesday had caused floods and landslides in an area spanning from Bartın in the west to Sinop in the east of the region prone to floods due to its climate. Rainfall sporadically continued on Wednesday and Thursday. Search and rescue crews were deployed in areas affected by floods, evacuating people stranded in their houses and cars.

*** 10:44

Five people were killed in flash floods in Kastamonu in Turkey's Black Sea region and one person was missing, the Disaster and Emergency Management Directorate (AFAD) said on Thursday, APA's local bureau reports.

There was also flooding in the Black Sea provinces of Bartin and Sinop. State broadcaster TRT Haber said on Wednesday one person had died from a heart attack amid the flooding in Bartin.

AFAD said the evacuation of people from impacted areas by helicopters was continuing, adding that there were road closures due to collapsed and damaged bridges.

Television footage showed the floods dragging dozens of cars and heaps of debris along in the streets. The heavy rainfall in the region will ease on Friday, according to data from the weather authority, AFAD said.

Turkey's north is prone to flash floods in the summer when rains are particularly strong. Last year at least five people were killed in floods in the region.

Turkey has also battled raging wildfires that have burnt tens of thousands of hectares of forest along its southern coast for the last two weeks.