Flash floods paralyze Turkey’s southern province of Adana

ADANA - Demirören News Agency

An entire neighborhood and tens of streets and avenues have been flooded during the unremitting rainfall which started in the southern province of Adana in the evening on Dec. 23.

Levent neighborhood, which houses the U.S. Consulate, was the place most affected by the flash floods. Nearly all the buildings and vehicles in the neighborhood of the Yüreğir district were damaged by floodwater.

“All public institutions are operating. The meteorology service predicts that rainfall will continue. We are at the crisis management center, and all the public institutions are working hard to prevent any suffering of the citizens,” said Adana Gov. Mahmut Demirtaş on Dec. 24.

Demirtaş said that based on official figures, since Dec. 22 alone four central districts of Adana received around 250 kilograms per square meter (0.356 pounds per square inch, or psi) of precipitation.

"This is the biggest disaster we've faced in recent years," he said. He added that three crisis centers and commissions were put together to make quick decisions during crises.

He said damage to both housing and agriculture from the torrential rains is being assessed.

Schools were suspended for two days, and rescue teams are being dispatched to save stranded people, he added.

A bridge over a stream connected to the River Seyhan, which runs close to the Yüreğir state hospital, was closed for security reasons. The nearby Kozan Avenue, which is adjacent to a major irrigation channel, was also flooded and closed to traffic.

On Dec. 24, a car carrying five people fell into a plough land because of a flash flood in Sarıçam district. Three of the passengers managed to get out of the car, and the other two people were found in a reed field by a team of the Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD).

Adana received 182 kilograms of rain per square meter in two days, and about 40 to 70 kilograms of rain is expected to be added on top of that, the meteorology service said on Dec. 24.