Incessant rain triggers flash floods, landslide

MUĞLA

Torrential rain on the night of Dec. 8 unleashed chaos across Türkiye, flooding tourism hub Muğla's Bodrum district and triggering a landslide in the Black Sea province of Artvin, leading to road closures and widespread disruption.

Sudden rainfall in Bodrum caused puddles to form on several streets and avenues, prompting local authorities to implement immediate preventive measures.

One of the highways heavily affected by the intense rainfall was closed to traffic, leaving multiple cars stranded in floodwaters. Emergency teams worked tirelessly to clear the vehicles, eventually making the highway accessible to traffic again.

Two people got trapped in a car when floodwaters swept away the paving stones on a street, leaving a large hole in the road where the vehicle became stuck. Rescue teams quickly deployed construction equipment to free the residents from the car.

Many homes and businesses were inundated due to the incessant rain, with residents scrambling to clean their waterlogged properties late into the night. Meanwhile, thunderstorms caused power outages in some neighborhoods of the district.

“Our region experienced heavy rainfall in the evening, leading to floods and inundations in several areas, even though we had already cleared the stream banks. In response, we mobilized teams from the water and sewage administration and the municipality, deploying approximately 175 personnel and 77 vehicles,” Bodrum Mayor Tamer Mandalinci explained.

In the country’s northeast, a landslide gripped the Black Sea province of Artvin’s Arhavi district at around 3:30 a.m., resulting in the closure of the Black Sea coastal road to traffic in both directions.

A vehicle passing through the road during the landslide was damaged, and relevant authorities were promptly dispatched to the area.

Artvin Governor Turan Ergün, who traveled to the scene for inspections, assured that authorities were working tirelessly to address the situation.

Ergün highlighted that the roadway was covered with 3 to 4 meters of soil and mentioned there was no information yet on whether any vehicles had been trapped beneath the debris. He also cautioned about the potential for further landslides in the region.