Three people have died and five others remain missing after torrential rainfall triggered severe flooding in Istanbul, Turkish authorities said on Thursday.
Search and rescue teams recovered the body of a man swept away by floodwaters in the Ayazaga neighborhood of Sariyer district, raising the confirmed fatalities to three. Earlier, a 14-year-old boy was electrocuted in a puddle, and a 34-year-old pedestrian died after slipping into floodwaters.
Turkish Interior Minister Mustafa Ciftci said Istanbul experienced intense precipitation, with rainfall reaching up to 272 kg per square meter in some parts of the city. Ciftci noted that emergency centers have received 8,815 distress calls across Istanbul so far.
The downpour began on Wednesday morning and intensified by the evening. Floodwaters trapped commuters on major roads and stranded residents in buildings, while emergency crews used rescue boats to reach people caught in flooded areas.
Istanbul Governor Davut Gul announced that 3,050 people had been rescued from the floodwaters. “There is no one left waiting to be rescued,” Gul told reporters.
Meanwhile, the governor’s office extended the suspension of education across the city through Friday.
The Turkish State Meteorological Service warned that rainfall is expected to resume on Friday morning, intensifying overnight and continuing heavily across the province throughout Saturday.