Torrential rain hits Istanbul
ISTANBUL – Demirören News Agency
Heavy downpours pounded Istanbul after a dayslong scorching heat on Aug. 21, causing flooding in parts of the city and a waterspout and disrupting traffic in various areas.
Heavy rain disrupted vehicle and pedestrian traffic in some districts of the city, both on the Asian and European sides.
Some roads in the Üsküdar district on the Asian side and Mecidiyeköy neighborhood of the Şişli district on the European side turned into pools of rainwater.
The highest rainfall was observed in the district of Beyoğlu, where commuters faced quite a challenge getting to work.
“Some 20-40 kgs of rain fell per square meter,” officials of the Turkish State Meteorological Service estimated.
The traffic density was at its peak with 80 percent on the highways to the July 15 Martyrs’ Bridge, one of the landmarks of the city, according to data obtained from the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality.
According to locals in the district of Beşiktaş, one of the asphalt roads got significantly ruined due to the heavy rains to such an extent that a car got stuck inside a pothole.
A waterspout emerged resulting from the heavy rains in the Bosphorus Strait, which cuts through the city, that pushed and swept the litter from the streets of Üsküdar on the Asian side to the sea where cigarettes, water bottles and face masks were seen floating for a long time.
