Torrential rain wreaks havoc on western, southern cities

ISTANBUL

The western and southern parts of the country have been plagued by torrential rain, with downpours turning into floods, resulting in streets, homes and businesses being inundated with water in several provinces.

A sudden rain shower on Istanbul’s Istiklal Avenue prompted a large number of individuals to seek refuge in the street's shops and restaurants. In the city hosting 16 million people and already grappling with traffic issues, the rain added a bit more burden to the roads, pushing traffic congestion beyond 80 percent.

In the Maltepe district, a severe thunderstorm caused a pine tree to topple onto a vehicle. A resident attempting to cross the road narrowly escaped being trapped under the fallen tree.

As a garden wall collapsed in the rain-affected areas of Küçükçekmece district, natural gas teams cut off the flow for safety purposes upon receiving the report.

In the northwestern province of Çanakkale, due to the overflow of Kepez Creek, some bridges collapsed, and several boats filled with water and were swept away.

The rain also caused the sea water to turn brown in the coastal areas of Kaş in Antalya. The tourist hub of Bodrum was affected by heavy rain, bringing daily life on the roads to a temporary standstill.

Heavy rainfall also led to flooding in Muğla as water descended from higher altitudes. Roads were submerged, and three vans and two caravans were carried away for meters by the floodwaters. Fifteen holidaymakers stranded due to the flood were rescued by the emergency teams.

While the rainfall is expected to continue in the Marmara and Aegean regions, the eastern and northern provinces of the country also came under the influence of rainy weather from Nov. 14 onwards.

Meteorologists foresaw that sleet can occur in high-altitude areas of the eastern cities.

[HH] Winter temperatures to be above seasonal norms

Meanwhile, prominent meteorologist Orhan Şen stated that the first snowfall of the season in the Central and Eastern Anatolia regions is expected at the end of this week and the beginning of next week.

He also noted that Istanbul will have to wait until January and February to be blanketed in white, and temperatures are projected to be higher than in previous years.

Similarly, the report released by the Turkish State Meteorological Service on the weather forecast of the next four months indicated that temperatures will be two or three degrees above seasonal norms in winter.

Fırat Çukurçayır, the head of the Meteorology Engineers Association, stated that since the beginning of June, every month, including November, has been recorded as the warmest-ever month in the Northern Hemisphere globally. Çukurçayır attributed this to the reflection of global warming and expressed the possibility of similar statements for the upcoming December.