Floods claimed nine lives in Kastamonu province while one person remains missing in Bartın as the Black Sea region grapples with two days of torrential rains. The flooding prompted evacuations and destroyed buildings, bridges and roads
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.
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.
The Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) announced the casualties early Thursday and said in a statement that their crews, staff from the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) and local search and rescue teams were working on evacuating residents and distributing aid to survivors.
Some 300 people in Bartın’s Ulus district, where an elderly woman went missing after floods tore apart her home, were evacuated, Daily Sabah reported.
In Kastamonu’s villages and neighborhoods, 210 people were evacuated from a region affected by floods. Helicopters airlifted stranded people who climbed up onto the roofs of buildings in the Bozkurt and Abana districts of Kastamonu on Thursday.
Television footage showed some multistory buildings located next to a stream had collapsed in Bozkurt but there was no word of any casualties. AFAD said another 106 people were airlifted in villages near Ayancık, the worst-hit district in Sinop, where the sole public hospital was inundated with floodwaters, forcing the evacuation of patients. Floods also led to power cuts in 271 villages in Kastamonu, Bartın and Sinop.
Floods and landslides led to the collapse of some bridges and roads in the region. Work is underway to restore access to some villages.
