More than 30 people have died in northwestern Turkey

More than 30 people have died in northwestern Turkey after two days of torrential rains triggered flash floods that turned roads into rivers and left hundreds of houses, offices and vehicles submerged.

Floods in the centre of Istanbul and the city’s districts of Catalca, Silivri and Ikitelli claimed 26 lives, the Anadolu news agency quoted Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan as saying Wednesday (September 9th).

Another “five citizens died in the northwestern province of Tekirdag. Currently, nine people are reported missing”, he told reporters in Istanbul. The city has not seen this much rain in about 80 years.

Turkish daily Hurriyet quoted Erdogan as saying that the government would provide nearly 1.4m euros in emergency aid to deal with damage caused by the floods.

Hundreds of rescue workers and firefighters, six military helicopters and 30 inflatable dinghies took part in a major operation to save lives in and around Istanbul on Wednesday.

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