Over 7,000 lightning flashes light Istanbul skies

ISTANBUL

The Turkish Presidency of Disaster and Emergency Management (AFAD) has issued a warning of heavy precipitation and flood risk for 21 of all Türkiye’s 81 provinces, as Istanbul was paralyzed on July 9 with rainfalls and storms, witnessing over 7,000 lightning flashes until early July 10.

Downpours caused a stream to overflow in the Pınar neighborhood of Istanbul’s Esenyurt district.

“Some 10 people, including four workers in a factory, were evacuated from the region,” Demirören News Agency reported on July 10.

The traffic came to a halt in the Sultangazi district and the main roads of the busy neighborhoods of Taksim and Mecidiyeköy late on July 9.

“Houses and offices on ground floors in Esenyurt were flooded. Officials got some 215 help calls,” AFAD said in a statement. “Our provincial directorates in Istanbul, [the northwestern provinces of] Kocaeli, Sakarya, Bursa, Balıkesir, [the Black Sea provinces of] Düzce and Zonguldak are on full alert for possible floods,” it added.

According to the Turkish State Meteorological Service, rainfalls left Istanbul late on July 10, but will the province once again can face a rainy day on July 14.

The temperature will hit 29 degrees Celsius next weekend in Türkiye’s most populous province.