Torrential rains, storms hit across country

ISTANBUL

Torrential rains are expected across the country for three days, especially in the eastern provinces, while the southern provinces affected by the devastating Feb. 6 earthquakes will also witness strong precipitation and dust transport, according to the latest weather report of the Turkish State Meteorological Service.

Rainfall, expected as thundery showers in the southern parts, is estimated to be strong in the Marmara, Aegean, Mediterranean, Central Anatolia, Western Black Sea, Eastern Anatolia and Southeastern Anatolia regions.

Precipitation in the earthquake-hit provinces in Türkiye’s south is also expected to batter Osmaniye, Gaziantep, Kilis, Adıyaman, Elazığ, Diyarbakır, northern parts of Şanlıurfa and Hatay and southern and eastern districts of Malatya. Heavy rains are also expected around Adıyaman and Diyarbakır, according to meteorologists.

The bureau also warned citizens to be cautious against possible hazards such as flooding, disruptions in transportation, lightning strikes, soft hail and strong winds that may be caused by torrential rains, which are expected to lose their effect in the region on April 11.

Air temperatures, meanwhile, will decrease by 2 to 4 degrees Celsius in the western parts and increase by 3 to 5 degrees Celsius in southeastern provinces, according to the report. There will be no significant change in other places, it added.

The wind is expected to blow from the north in western and Marmara provinces, and from the south in the eastern parts with light to medium strength, and from the south in the Eastern Mediterranean, Central Anatolia, Eastern Black Sea, and Eastern Anatolia regions in the form of a strong and stormy wind.

Accordingly, dust transport will be seen in the Eastern Mediterranean and Southeastern Anatolia regions, including the quake-hit provinces.

In the Kahramanmaraş-centered earthquakes of magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 on Feb. 6, more than 50,000 people lost their lives and many others were left homeless, while more than 2.5 million survivors still stay in tent cities.