2 killed in flash floods in Istanbul
Two people died in Istanbul after torrential rain triggered flash floods, with rainfall reaching nearly 200 kg per square meter, authorities said Thursday, Xinhua reported.
According to the Istanbul Governor's Office, a 14-year-old boy was electrocuted after stepping into a puddle in the Balat neighborhood of Fatih district. In a separate incident in Sariyer district, a 34-year-old pedestrian was killed after slipping in floodwaters while crossing a street.
The downpour began on Wednesday morning and intensified in the evening, hitting the city's European side particularly hard and severely disrupting transport.
🇹🇷 Terrifying footage from Istanbul, which was literally underwater Heavy downpours battered the city, causing severe flooding. Authorities cancelled school classes and urged residents to stay home unless absolutely necessary.
— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) October 15, 2026
Floodwaters inundated major roads and submerged vehicles, prompting emergency crews to use excavators to rescue stranded commuters. Traffic ground to a halt, with congestion nearing 100 percent and leaving many residents stranded for hours.
Preliminary data from the governor's office showed nearly 1,300 flooding incidents across the city, with floodwaters inundating more than 800 homes and 280 businesses. Emergency teams also responded to 47 incidents involving people stranded by rising waters.
#Turkey #Istanbul Roads collapsed. A 14 year old boy electrocuted by floodwater. The Grand Bazaar underwater. Nearly 100mm of rain in 12 hours overwhelmed a city of 16 million people in a matter of hours. This keeps happening to major cities worldwide as rainfall intensities climb. How much of this damage is weather, and how much is decades of underinvested drainage infrastructure finally meeting its limit?
— Rizwan Ashraffi (@rizwanace) October 14, 2026
The severe weather also disrupted operations at Istanbul's two main airports, Istanbul Airport and Sabiha Gokcen International Airport. Heavy rain and strong winds forced numerous incoming flights to abort landings and divert to other airports, reported the Hurriyet Daily, an English-language daily in Türkiye.
The governor's office banned motorcycles and other two-wheeled vehicles from the city's roads from Wednesday evening until further notice. With heavy rain expected to continue through Thursday, authorities suspended classes across the city and urged residents to avoid going out unless necessary.
Earlier, it was reported that flood alerts had been issued for parts of Kansas and Missouri as thunderstorms and heavy rainfall were expected to increase the risk of flooding from Tuesday afternoon or evening through Wednesday morning.