Flooding kills two in Turkey's Black Sea province

ORDU

Two people were killed and two others were injured while one person was reportedly missing as heavy rain hit the Black Sea province of Ordu, triggering floods and landslides. 

Scores of houses and shops were submerged under water in the province’s Perşembe district after thundering showers caused the Kacalı and Gargacak streams to overflow, confining locals to their homes. 

A 60-year-old resident in the Kaleyaka neighborhood near Gargacak, identified as Alim Canbulut, went missing amid the flood. 

The man’s cousin, Mustafa Canbulut, 55, went adrift while trying to help rescue teams locate Alim Canbulut and sustained serious injuries. Mustafa Canbulut was transferred to Ordu State Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries. 

Six others who were stranded in nearby areas were rescued with the help of the bucket of a loader, and two were transferred to hospital. 

Meanwhile, a woman died in a landslide in the district’s Tarlacık neighborhood, the provincial head of Turkey’s disaster agency was quoted as saying by state-run Anadolu Agency. 

“A landslide went over a house. Three people were stranded in that house. Our teams continue to work in the region. Our teams recovered the body of a dead woman and reached two citizens who were injured,” Osman Işık, the local head of the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD), said. 

“The rainfall which started on the night of July 4 increased in volume on July 5... The Perşembe and Fatsa districts in particular saw heavy damage,” Işık added. 

Houses, offices and bridges were also damaged in the flooding, as the mayor of Ordu said around 10 houses and a bridge had collapsed in the area.

“The road at the exit of the Nefise Akçelik tunnel on the Black Sea coastal road was closed to traffic. Moreover, our large bridge which facilitated transportation to the Perşembe district has collapsed,” Ordu Mayor Enver Yılmaz said.