Heavy rains hit Istanbul, west coast

ISTANBUL - Doğan News Agency

Houses and shops in several districts in Istanbul are flooded. DHA photo

Heavy rains hit Istanbul on Oct. 29, causing many houses and offices to flood. Rains particularly affected the western districts of the city, such as Esenyurt, Büyükçekmece and Avcılar. The rains also were effective in the western coast of Turkey yesterday. Residents whose houses flooded complained about a lack of assistance regarding the situation from the Istanbul Waterworks Authority (İSKI).

Olene Maslinikova, whose home was inundated by water, said it was the second time her home has flooded due to heavy rains and the poor substructure of her neighborhood.“I have called İSKI many times today, but nobody answered. My neighbors helped me bail out the water from the house,” she said. According to Malinikova, manholes that were out of operation caused the floods and ISKI has not taken any steps to rectifying the situation.

Meanwhile, Istanbul’s ferry transport firm IDO announced ferry services on some routes between the Asian side and European side of the city have been halted due to strong southwestern winds.