Recent days, the largest city in Turkey, Istanbul, has encountered the strongest rainfall in over 80 years, leading to severe flooding disasters, bringing the city’s daily life to a standstill. Up to now, the floods have caused at least 3 deaths, with 5 people reported missing, prompting the government to urgently evacuate over 3,000 stranded residents.
The Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality stated that the current round of rainfall has set a record high in Istanbul since 1942. Some areas received almost 100 millimeters of rainfall within 12 hours, with the Beykoz district recording close to 273 millimeters, categorized as extremely heavy rainfall.
The Office of the Governor of Istanbul reported on Thursday (October 15) that among the known 3 fatalities is a 14-year-old boy who tragically died due to electric shock in the flooded area of Fatih.
According to statistics from the Istanbul Provincial Government, the city has received a total of 2,518 reports of incidents, including urban flooding, water entering homes, wall collapses, electrical circuit malfunctions, and landslides. Footage from the scene shows a large number of vehicles being swept away by raging floods, while some residences, shops, hospitals, and subway stations have been submerged, causing a complete paralysis of city traffic.
At the same time, air traffic has also been heavily impacted, with a total of 46 flights being diverted to other airports due to strong winds and heavy rain at Istanbul Airport and Sabiha Gokcen Airport on the Asian side.
In order to minimize disaster losses, authorities have announced the closure of all public and private schools in the city until October 19 (next Monday), banned motorcycles and other two-wheeled vehicles from the roads, and urged residents living in basements to evacuate to higher floors.
The Disaster and Emergency Management Authority of Turkey (AFAD) and local authorities have established crisis centers, deploying around 47,000 rescue personnel and a large amount of heavy equipment for flood control and rescue operations.
However, the meteorological department has warned that Istanbul may experience thunderstorm weather in the coming days, with localized heavy rainfall potentially exacerbating the risk of urban flooding.