Classes canceled after deadly storm sweeps several provinces

ISTANBUL

Classes have been cancelled in at least 10 provinces, including Istanbul, after a powerful storm has killed five people, left dozens of others injured, sank boats and damaged buildings across the country.

The Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) said at least four people were killed and more than 40 were injured in Istanbul, one of the cities hit hard by the storm.

The wind, which reached 129 kilometers per hour (around 80 miles per hour) on Nov. 29, toppled 233 trees, blew off the roof of 93 buildings, and 18 vehicles were also damaged in the city, according to the emergency body.

Authorities had to close the busy Bosphorus Strait to ships and cancelled ferry traffic in the city.

Meanwhile, the Istanbul Governor’s Office announced that motorcycle couriers will not be allowed to provide service from 11 p.m. on Nov. 29 until 6 p.m. on Nov. 30.

The ban came shortly after a video footage, which went viral on social media, showed couriers struggling with wind on a bridge over the Bosphorus Strait.

Two public transport buses were seen escorting them to shield the couriers against the fierce wind. The video prompted calls on social media for people not to order food, groceries or anything requiring such services.

Motorcycles and electric scooters were also banned from traffic, the governor’s office said.

According to AFAD, one person was killed and eight were injured in the northwestern province of Kocaeli where wind sank 11 boats and washed seven other boats ashore.

The northwestern provinces of Bursa, Bolu, Tekirdağ and Yalova as well as the western province of Balıkesir and Zonguldak on the Black Sea coast were also affected from the storm where no casualties were reported but some material damage was caused.

In İzmir, the country’s third largest province on the Aegean coast, high waves submerged a part of road along the seashore and interrupted tram service. Winds reaching up to 110 kilometers per hour toppled trees and ferry services were canceled and were resumed later in the day.

Meanwhile, a magnitude 5.1 earthquake hit the Aegean Sea early on Nov. 30, AFAD said.

The quake jolted İzmir at 7 a.m. local time. The epicenter of the quake was 56.18 kilometers (34.90 miles) from Urla district, with a depth of 3.97 kilometers (2.46 miles).

No casualties have been reported so far.

A powerful magnitude 6.6 earthquake hit İzmir in October last year. In the quake, 114 people were killed and more than 1,000 others were injured.