Flash floods in Turkey have killed at least 14 people after torrential rains hit two provinces devastated by last month’s earthquake.
At least five other people were also reported missing, officials and media reported Wednesday.
The terrible weather added to the misery for thousands of homeless people after last month’s devastating 7.8 earthquake that killed around 52,000 people in the country and in Syria – the region’s deadliest in modern times.
According to media reports, many of those killed in the floods lived in tents and container houses in southeastern Turkey that were affected by the earthquake.
Heavy rains hit the area late Tuesday and the weather service expects them to continue late into Wednesday.
Shocking images of the rushing water showed helpless victims being dragged away as cars were carried by the water over roads turned into torrents.
The rescue team conducts an evacuation operation for civilians after the devastating rainstorm hit the city of Sanliurfa
Several people were swept away by the turbulent waters, which turned roads into muddy rivers in areas hit last month.
A man was filmed being dragged helplessly by the flowing murky water, unable to stop himself, as he navigated a street in the town of Sanliurfa.
Other horrifying footage showed the water washing away cars and flooding makeshift shelters for earthquake victims.
Hundreds of thousands of Turkish earthquake survivors are sheltered in tents and container houses in the disaster area, which spans 11 provinces.
One person died in the city of Tut in the southeastern province of Adiyaman after rising waters swept away a container house housing a family of earthquake survivors.
It was later reported that a one-year-old died in the disaster.
Salih Ayhan, the governor of the neighboring province of Sanliurfa, about 50 kilometers north of the Syrian border, told Turkish television that four people had died in the floods in his region.
Rescue workers later found five more bodies of Syrian citizens in a flooded basement apartment in Sanliurfa, Turkey’s DHA news agency reported.
Two more deaths were later reported.
Cars and debris were scattered during flooding after heavy rain and flooding in Sanliurfa
Turkish soldiers and a rescue team conduct an evacuation operation for civilians in Sanliurfa
Police divers known as “frogmen” are engaged in search and rescue operations at the flooded intersection after a downpour hit Sanliurfa
The Turkish police are engaged in search and rescue operations in the flooded area
A view of floodwaters in Sanliurfa, southeast Turkey, after flash floods killed at least 10 people living in tents and shipping containers
Turkish soldiers and rescue team are carrying out evacuation operations with boats and heavy equipment for civilians
Rescue workers on boats rescue people from the raging waters in the devastated region of Sanliurfa
People are rescued with a shovel in floods after heavy rain killed 13 in Sanliurfa
Three people are missing in Adiyaman and two in Sanliurfa, local reports said.
Several people were evacuated from a damp campsite where earthquake survivors were sheltering in tents.
The flooding also reached the ground floor of one of the region’s main hospitals, the Sanliurfa governor’s office said.
Turkey’s civil protection agency said more than a dozen professional divers were involved in the rescue effort in each of the two provinces.
A magnitude 7.8 earthquake shook parts of Turkey and Syria on February 6, killing more than 52,000 people – the vast majority in Turkey. More than 200,000 buildings in Turkey collapsed or were badly damaged.
Facing a tough re-election in May, President Erdogan now faces a furious public backlash over his government’s faltering response to the worst natural disaster of his 20-year rule.
Erdogan has publicly apologized several times, stressing that no country could have responded so quickly to a disaster of this magnitude.
Erdogan has toured the region in recent weeks, meeting survivors and vowing to rebuild the entire area within a year.
Members of the police and rescue team carry the body of a person during flooding after heavy rain in Sanliurfa
Turkish soldiers and rescue workers are conducting evacuation operations with boats
Turkish soldiers on a boat rescue an elderly man from the stormy weather amid the floods
Civilians are being evacuated by boat from the Aqaba district due to flash floods
Heavy rain caused flooding in Adiyaman and Sanliurfa, which were hit by earthquakes in Turkey last month
Turkish police developers known as “toad men” are engaged in search and rescue operations at the flooded intersection after a downpour hit Sanliurfa
Turkish soldiers and rescue workers are engaged in evacuation operations in the devastated region
A man is pulled in a wheelchair as civilians are evacuated from Aqaba district due to flash floods in Sanliurfa
Turkish soldiers and rescue teams carry children as they continue an evacuation operation for civilians in Sanliurfa
“We will build 319,000 houses by the end of next year,” Erdogan said in a parliamentary speech to his ruling party members on Wednesday.
“In addition to the search and rescue, emergency response and shelter provided so far, we promise our country to restore cities devastated by the earthquake within one year,” he said.
Erdogan sent his interior minister to the flooded area to monitor the government’s response.
“Currently we have 10 teams with 163 people searching and rescuing at a distance of 25 kilometers,” Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu told reporters.
We also have divers. But due to the weather conditions, there is not much we can do,” he said.
Source link
Elizabeth Cabrera is an author and journalist who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a talent for staying up-to-date on the latest news and trends, Elizabeth is dedicated to delivering informative and engaging articles that keep readers informed on the latest developments.
