Two killed in flood in Turkey’s Black Sea city Rize

RİZE

At least two people died and 11 were injured in floods triggered by heavy rain in the Black Sea province of Rize, just two days after four people were killed in floods in Artvin, another province in the region.

Heavy rain hit the districts of Çayeli, İkizdere and Madenli, causing extensive material damage as the stream of Şairler brimmed over.

Some bridges and roads collapsed and dozens of vehicles were left under debris, with landslides also occurring.

“Twelve villages cannot be reached in Çayeli, but we have established communication with them. There are no deaths in those villages, but only one injured,” said Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu.

One person is still missing, said the minister, without disclosing details on the identity.

In the last 24 hours, the amount of rainfall per meter square in Rize was around 262 kilograms, according to the officials.

Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD) teams evacuated 36 people including six children from Madenli region and officials said 11 people were being treated in hospitals.

The Turkish Red Crescent placed people who could not get into their damaged houses in student dormitories.

The dead body of a man was recovered from the floods, the officials added.

“We evacuated an 82-year-old lady from a village of Çayeli. Her heart stopped but first responders helped it revive and dispatched her to a hospital. Unfortunately, she died this morning,” said Mustafa Tepe, the provincial health director, yesterday.

Hayati Yazıcı, the ruling AKP’s deputy chair responsible for political and legal affairs, was at the scene to inspect the damages.

“This is a natural disaster. But some of the damages may have happened because of human error,” said Yazıcı.

“The state is here with all its means. We have direct orders from President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for damage assessment and to heal the wounds,” Soylu said.

On July 12, heavy rain hit Artvin where four people died. The Artvin-Erzurum road was closed. In the Karlıova district of the eastern province of Bingöl, also a river flooded, leaving numbers of houses submerged. The flood also caused damages on the cultivated lands in the area.

In June, at least five people in the northwestern province of Bursa were killed in floods.