Several provinces grapple with downpours, floods

ANTALYA

Torrential floods and relentless downpours have wreaked havoc across several regions and provinces in Türkiye, plunging communities into disaster and disrupting daily life.

Floods hit the southern province of Antalya, as relentless rains and storms pounded the city. The rainfall which continued for two days in five central districts namely, Kepez, Muratpaşa, Konyaaltı, Aksu, and Döşemealtı flooded roads, underpasses, houses and workplaces.

Service in the Muratpaşa civil registry office and some laboratories in Kepez State Hospital were hindered due to problems in water drainage systems.

After the level of water accumulated in the underpass fell on the morning of Feb. 14, the trace left by the water 2.5 meters high on the wall of the underpass revealed the extent of the disaster. The 2-kilometer underpass was later cleaned and opened to vehicles.

Rainwater flooded the Gıyaseddin Keyhüsrev Underpass connecting Muratpaşa and Kepez districts, where the lifeless body of Halil Yıldız (47) was found in a car stuck in a deep puddle.

The teams from the Department of Environmental Health and Control took preventative measures against diseases caused by the possible breeding of flies, insects and rodents by spraying pesticides in the flood zone.

Deputy Interior Minister Münir Karaloğlu, who went to Antalya after the flood disaster, held a press conference at the Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency's (AFAD) provincial directorate building on Feb. 14.

He shared that the total number of calls received by the emergency call center was around 4,200, of which 2,500 were related to waterlogging.

Karaloğlu announced that education in schools in the five heavily affected districts is to resume on Feb. 15.

In the eastern province of Şanlıurfa, the downpour that started the night of Feb. 13 and continued intermittently on Feb. 14 disrupted daily life. Puddles formed on some streets and avenues and small streams overflowed due to the rainfall. Drivers caught unprepared for the downpour had difficulty moving in traffic.

Some houses in the Eyyübiye, Akabe, Maşuk, Eyyüpnebi and Muradiye neighborhood were also flooded. Şanlıurfa Training and Research Hospital directed patients to other hospitals in the city center against possible flooding on the ground floor. Additionally, with the decision taken by the governor's office, all schools across the province were canceled on Feb. 14.

Daily life in the western province of Çanakkale was also negatively affected as Karamenderes Stream, fed by the Mount Ida and Bayramiç Dam, overflowed. The road between Kalafat village and Yeniköy was closed to transportation, while heavy rains flooded wheat fields.