Turkey: Flood Disaster in Earthquake Zone
As a result of the downpour that has been effective since yesterday evening in Şanlıurfa, some streams overflowed, vehicles were submerged, 6 people were caught in the flood waters, four people died, two missing firefighters were rescued. One person died in Adıyaman, four people are missing.
Many streets and avenues in the central Eyyübiye, Haliliye and Karaköprü districts were flooded due to the downpour that continued to affect the city since yesterday evening.
6 People Succumbed to Flood Waters
It is stated that 6 people, including the firefighter team and those who tried to move under the bridged Abide Junction in the city center, were caught in the flood waters, while divers are doing search and rescue work in the region.
It was announced that four people lost their lives in Şanlıurfa, and two missing firefighters were rescued.
Another person trapped in the underpass where the flooding took place was taken out of the water and taken to the hospital.
Şanlıurfa’yı bilmeyenler için
burası şehrin tam ortası yani öyle arka sokaklar değil, 20 yıldır AKP yönetiyorpic.twitter.com/yMN7vDqx2n— ATAKIZ (@ATAISIK_) March 15, 2023
Providing information about the works, Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu said, “The heavy rain that started as of the night unfortunately turned into a flood. 4 of our citizens were caught in the flood waters, one of them is a 1.5-year-old child. Our search and rescue teams found it. Currently, 10 teams of 163 people are doing search and rescue on a 25-kilometer band, there are also divers. But the weather and conditions do not allow much,” he said.
Şanlıurfa Governor Salih Ayhan said, “We are fighting a very intense struggle. Precipitation is close to 200 kilograms per square meter. There are reports, all of them are intervened. My biggest request is: My citizens should not go out too much, those who live by the stream should definitely stay away from there,” he said.
The downpour caused a flood in the historical Balıklıgöl campus in the central Eyyübiye district.
Bir Urfalı olarak Urfa tarihinde balıklı gölün böyle bir hale geldiğini hiç duymadım. pic.twitter.com/nCqqL7U3NG
— 🦅 Simyacı-3463 (@dogruyol_zeki) March 15, 2023
The surrounding of the campus, where the color of the water was observed to have changed, was surrounded by a security strip by the police teams for security purposes. The water level in Ayn Zeliha Lake, located on the campus, rose by about 2 meters.
It was learned that transportation was difficult on some underpasses and main routes due to floods.
Şanlıurfa Training and Research Hospital emergency service was also flooded due to heavy rains. Thereupon, the patients in the emergency room were moved to the upper floors. The hospital staff started work to drain the water in the emergency room.
On the other hand, Ömer Oturan, who was hit by lightning while he was on the field in Akçakale district, was taken to the hospital. Sitting is said to be life-threatening.
Governor Salih Ayhan, in a statement on his social media account, said, “The heavy downpour continues. Since stream and canal overflows may occur, our citizens residing in ground and basement houses close to stream and canal beds should evacuate their houses. used the phrases.
Burası Şanlıurfa Süleymaniye
Bu görüntüleri hiç bir tv kanalı göstermiyor.
Kaç insan suya kapılmış pic.twitter.com/3TIDiQDuEt— ATAKIZ (@ATAISIK_) March 15, 2023
One person lost his life and three people disappeared as a result of the container set up in a garden in the Tut district of Adıyaman, where the downpour was effective, getting caught in the water.
In Tut district, which was affected by the Kahramanmaraş-centered earthquakes on February 6, the stream overflowed due to the intermittent showers.
Tokat Governor Numan Hatipoğlu, who works as a coordinator in Adıyaman, stated that a container was swept away in the disaster that affected the entire region due to the downpour.
Emphasizing that support teams were sent to the region from Adıyaman and Gölbaşı districts, Hatipoğlu said, “One of our citizens died in the incident, 4 of our citizens are missing. Our teams continue their search. We are trying to reach other citizens as well,” he said.
Malatya, Şanlıurfa and Adıyaman received much more than a month of precipitation overnight. Within 24 hours, 151 kg (mm) of precipitation per square meter fell in Malatya, 95 kg (mm) in Adıyaman, and 104.5 kg in Şanlıurfa. Şanlıurfa had such a heavy rainfall in January of 1960 (119mm), Adıyaman in January of 2018 (105.9mm), and Malatya in April 1071 (52.6mm).
The precipitation amounts per square meter in the region between 06:00 on Tuesday, March 14 and 06:00 on Wednesday, March 15 are as follows:
Malatya (Doğanşehir-Kurucaova area) 151.4 kg, Adıyaman (Çelikhan) 125.6 kg, Adıyaman (Kahta) 106 kg, Şanlıurfa (Karaköprü) 104.5 kg, Şanlıurfa (Harran) 89.7 kg.
Yaşanan sel felaketi nedeniyle Adıyaman’da 1 kişi, Şanlıurfa’da ise 4 kişinin hayatını kaybettiği, 5 kişinin ise kaybolduğu belirtildi… pic.twitter.com/v0lO9bxQ0F
— Murat AĞIREL (@muratagirel) March 15, 2023
AnadoluJet’s Ankara-Adıyaman flight could not land at Adıyaman Airport due to strong wind and icing. The plane, which toured in the air for a while, returned to Ankara Esenboğa Airport.
In Şanlıurfa, another province where adverse weather conditions are experienced, strong winds caused disruptions in flights. Some planes, which could not land at Şanlıurfa Airport due to the wind, had to take a tour in the air. Some planes, on the other hand, could not land due to strong winds and were diverted to other provinces.
Anadolujet’s Ankara-Şanlıurfa passenger plane landed at Gaziantep Airport, and Turkish Airlines’ Istanbul-Şanlıurfa flight landed at Diyarbakır Airport.
