Türkiye has placed 55,560 personnel, 6,574 vehicles and 20 boats on alert nationwide as heavy rainfall and severe weather affect Istanbul and other provinces, Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi said Thursday.
Speaking at the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) headquarters in Ankara, Çiftçi said 46,597 personnel, including 8,597 search-and-rescue workers, were actively operating in Istanbul, supported by 2,288 vehicles and 14 boats.
Authorities evacuated 2,727 people stranded by flooding across Istanbul, with teams from AFAD, the Coast Guard, gendarmerie and municipalities involved in the operations. Evacuations in the Ayazağa neighborhood were completed, while residents requiring shelter were being accommodated in public guesthouses, Çiftçi said.
Authorities received 9,588 reports from provinces under meteorological warnings, including 8,815 in Istanbul. Emergency teams responded to most of the 6,728 verified cases reported to the city's 112 emergency call center, he added.
Additional teams and equipment were dispatched from Afyonkarahisar, Tokat, Muğla and Kütahya to areas in need. Emergency teams also delivered 4,692 food supplies to residents in the field and at evacuation centers.
Rainfall reached as much as 272 millimeters per square meter in some parts of Istanbul, Çiftçi said, adding that two people had died in the city due to the heavy rain.
He said meteorological warnings had been issued for 42 provinces at the yellow level and six provinces at the orange level for Oct. 14-15, based on assessments by the Turkish State Meteorological Service.
Classes were suspended in Istanbul for two days and in Kocaeli, Zonguldak, Sakarya, Düzce and Yalova for one day to reduce risks from the adverse weather, Çiftçi said.
Residents in provinces under yellow-level warnings received warning messages, while those in provinces under orange-level warnings were informed via SMS.
Authorities urged residents to avoid unnecessary travel, stay away from stream beds and underpasses where water had accumulated, and follow weather warnings issued by public institutions and the AFAD.
Çiftçi said response operations were being coordinated by the AFAD under Türkiye's Disaster Response Plan, in cooperation with provincial governor's offices and relevant public institutions. He added that the state was mobilizing all available resources to support people affected by the severe weather.