Tsunami Terror: At Least 70 People Died After Flash Floods Engulfed Town in Turkey

After torrential rain had poured in northern Turkey along the Black Sea last week, the town was engulfed with massive flood of rushing water, killing at least 70 people.

The town of Bozkurt in the province of Kastamonu was affected the most as floodwaters immersed the narrow streets in minutes from the rain-swollen river nearby.

(Photo : Photo by Chris Gallagher on Unsplash)

Resident Sumeyra Ergin Felek was able to capture what seems like a 'tsunami terror' on her phone showing houses and apartment buildings on the riverbed caught in flood and a man in his car getting swept and disappeared into the water as the Ezine river burst its banks.

Turkish authorities reported 70 deaths on Monday, including 60 people in Kastamonu, nine in the province of Sinop and one in the province of Bartin due to severe flooding, while eight people have been hospitalized. The search continues for the missing 77 people.

Turkey Floods

The severe flooding in Turkey's Black Sea region was triggered by torrential rain, causing some buildings to collapse, bridges fallen, streets clogged with wrecked cars, and power supplies are cut.

"We can't bring back the citizens we lost, but our state has the means and power to compensate those who lost loved ones," said President Recep Tayyip Erdogan upon visiting Kastamonu on Friday and attending funeral for some of the flooding victims.

Some residents had criticized Mr. Erdogan's government in handling and mitigating natural disasters.

In the search and rescue operation, helicopters rescued some people from their rooftops while others were rescued by boat. It was recently reported that over 1,700 people have been evacuated, and as many as 330 villages had been cut out of power.

4,365 personnel, 540 vehicles, 32 ambulances, a helicopter, a drone, an UAV and other equipment had been deployed in the most affected province of Kastamonu to assist rescue and recovery efforts.

"The flood is one of the biggest disasters I have ever seen," said Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu. "Thus, we will carry out a long and feverish work here. We are trying to keep the morale of our citizens high. This trauma is not an easy one."

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More extreme weather events to come

Major UN report warns more extreme weather conditions in the near future due to human-induced climate change. Europe faces flash floods and severe heatwaves this summer.

Just this month, Turkey has already battled huge wildfires in the south that killed eight people when a fire-fighting plane crashed in Adana on Saturday, just before it was due to land. The Interfax agency reported death of five Russian servicemen and three Turkish citizens.

At this time, the fires in the area had been contained, while thousands of locals and tourists are forced to evacuate Marmaris and surrounding areas. More than 100,000 hectares (247,000 acres) of vegetation was lost to fire.

Meanwhile, the mountainous areas along Turkey such as Black Sea coast are prone to flooding. Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said on a visit "this is the worst flood disaster I have seen."

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