The catastrophic floods in Istanbul were the worst in more than 80 years, the Turkish Interior Minister said on Friday, as the death toll rose to four deaths.
Istanbul, Turkey’s largest city with 16 million people, was hit in the 48 hours before Thursday morning by more rain than the combined historical average for September and October, state-run Anadolu Agency reported.
“We are doing our best to help our citizens, but we are also facing the largest catastrophic flood since 1942,” Mustafa Ciftci said during a visit to one of the regions hardest hit by Wednesday night’s downpours.
The body of a 66-year-old man was found under a bridge in the Sariyer district of Istanbul on Friday. Three other deaths had already been reported, including a teenager electrocuted during the storm.
Homes and businesses were flooded as water covered city streets and parks. Vehicles were swept away by the waters and many found themselves piled up at the foot of the hills.
Before the body was found Friday, Ciftci told reporters in the Ayazaga neighborhood of Sariyer that four people were still missing.
He said there were 9,850 reports of damage and other flood-related problems and that 46,000 people were working to clear debris and help Istanbul residents.
Murat Kurum, the Minister of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change, accompanied Ciftci to the district affected by the floods.
Responding to concerns that flooding was being exacerbated by urban development near waterways, he said tackling the problem was “essential”.
Kurum, who will chair the United Nations climate change conference, COP31, next month in the Turkish city of Antalya, also linked flooding to the effects of climate change. “Fighting climate change is not a choice, but a necessity,” he said.
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