In brief
Istanbul has suffered its worst rainfall in eight decades, leaving two people dead and nearly 600 rescued as streets buckle under the deluge. The 14‑year‑old boy died when he stepped into a puddle that short‑circuited his electrical supply, while a 34‑year‑old man was injured after slipping and falling onto a road. City officials have urged residents to stay indoors, extend metro hours, and limit travel. Airports saw 46 planes grounded, and emergency crews responded to dozens of road collapses, a flooded mall, and a swollen river.
Two people died in Istanbul after a torrent of rain – the heaviest in 84 years – flooded streets and caused widespread damage, governor Davut Gül told reporters on Thursday.
The first victim, a 14‑year‑old boy, was electrocuted when he stepped into a puddle that had become a live electrical hazard. The second was a 34‑year‑old man who slipped across a road, struck the pavement and suffered fatal head injuries.
Nearly 600 residents were rescued from water‑logged streets, and many cars were found submerged in the city’s suburbs, the deputy mayor said.
Officials have urged citizens to stay home unless absolutely necessary, as the city faces additional heavy showers that are expected to continue through the weekend.
An investigation has been launched into the boy’s electrocution, with authorities reviewing the site of the tragic incident.
Rainfall in some parts of Istanbul has reached one‑seventh of the area’s usual annual average, a scale the interior minister said could set record levels for the year.
Mayor Nuri Aslan reported evacuating 595 people to safe zones and mobilised over 8,000 workers to address the flooding, while schools were ordered closed for two days.
Transport services were adjusted: the metro crews extended service to 02:00 local time, and residents were asked to use public transport instead of private cars.
Air travel was also impacted, with 46 aircraft unable to land at Istanbul’s airports due to the storm’s turbulence and flood conditions.
Infrastructure damage extended to a shopping‑centre car park in Sariyer, where vehicles were under water, as well as collapsed road sections and a river that burst its banks.
With more than 16 million people living in the Istanbul metropolitan area, the interior ministry warned of sudden flooding in adjacent provinces as well.
In an effort to ease the burden on those most vulnerable, the city offered administrative leave to disabled, pregnant, veteran employees, and public‑sector women with children under eight, unless they worked in essential services.
Sources: BBC Turkish.
