One person missing after flood hits Turkey’s north

RİZE - Doğan News Agency

Authorities have been searching for a 53-year-old man who fell into a stream in the northern province of Rize during heavy rainfall and flood on Oct. 15.

The Disaster and Management Authority (AFAD) and the Search and Rescued Association (AKUT) began search efforts to find Erol Çabuk who fell into the Çağlayan Stream when he was collecting woods, being swept away by the overflown stream during the flood in the district of Fındıklı.

AFAD, AKUT and gendarmerie units began searching for the man after eyewitnesses reported the incident. But the conditions for search and rescue efforts are reportedly tough amid the ongoing rainfall.

As the heavy rainfall continued in the Black Sea provinces of Artvin and Rize on the Black Sea coast on Oct. 16, minor landslides were observed.

Some towns were impacted heavily by the weather conditions.

A number of basements were flooded and village roads were blocked by the floods.

Officials have been working to open the flooded roads to traffic, while authorities have warned locals against flooding in their homes.

One woman was killed and another was wounded in a flood that hit Rize late last month.

In 2015, at least eight people were killed in floods that hit Artvin, sparking debates on environmental misconduct.