VIDEO: Death toll from severe floods in northern Turkey reaches 40
Rescue team members evacuate locals during flash floods in Turkey. Reuters
Gulf Today Report
The death toll from severe floods and mudslides in coastal Turkey has climbed to at least 40 on Saturday, the country's emergency and disaster agency said in a statement.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited one of the hardest-hit cities to lead a prayer for the victims and pledge government help.
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, front row-centre, attends the funeral prayers in Bozkurt, Turkey. AP
Torrential rains that pounded the Black Sea provinces of Bartin, Kastamonu and Sinop on Wednesday caused flooding that demolished homes, severed at least five bridges, swept away cars and rendered numerous roads unpassable. Turkish disaster agency AFAD said 34 people were killed in Kastamonu and six in Sinop.
The devastation across Turkey's northern Black Sea regions came just as the disaster-hit country was gaining control over hundreds of wildfires that killed eight people and destroyed swathes of forest along its scenic southern coast.
In a provisional toll, the government's disaster agency AFAD reported that 32 people had died in Kastamonu province, along the Black Sea, and that six others had lost their lives in the neighbouring area of Sinop.
But an undetermined number of people have also been reported missing.
Nine people remained hospitalised in Sinop and one person was missing in Bartin province, according to the agency. But some residents said on social media that there are hundreds more missing, a statement also made by an opposition lawmaker.
About 2,250 people were evacuated across the region, some lifted from rooftops by helicopters, and many were being temporarily housed in student dormitories, authorities said.
Climate scientists unequivocally say that climate change is leading to extreme weather events as the world warms because of the burning of coal, oil and natural gas. Such calamities are expected to happen more frequently as the planet warms.
