Heavy winds affect SW, central Anatolia

ISTANBUL - Doğan News Agency

The wind and waves destroyed seaports and bars, damaged hotels and caused vessels to come ashore in the southwestern town of Bodrum of Muğla province.

Strong winds, stormy weather and rain negatively affected life in southwestern and central Anatolia over the weekend, causing financial damage in several provinces.

Southwesterly winds hit some bars and hotels lying on the coastlines in the southwestern towns of Bodrum and Marmaris in the Aegean province of Muğla on Jan. 7. The wind reached a speed of 96 km per hour, which caused 4-meter high waves in Bodrum. The wind and waves destroyed seaports and bars, damaged hotels and caused vessels to come ashore.

A bar manager from Bodrum said in spite of their precautions to avoid the damages, “The damage is nearly 60,000 Turkish Liras. Our staff risked their lives for saving the bar. We never witnessed a storm like that before; it was like a tsunami to us,” Erdinç Büyüksarı said.

In the center of the southwestern province of Muğla, some 16 cm of rain fell and flooded the agricultural lands, said president of the Agriculture Engineers Chamber Mehmet Baştuğ.

Baştuğ also said citrus producers and beekeepers would especially be affected by the floods. In the Aegean province of Denizli, much home flooding was reported.

The central Anatolian province of Niğde was another stop of the storm. Sixteen people, including two children using coal burning stoves, were poisoned by gas.

The city terminal’s rooftop fell down because of the winds, causing one injury. Taxi driver Doğan Güneş, 44, was injured by the broken glass of the rooftop. Güneş was hospitalized right after the incident.