Videos showing water gushing down a street in Turkey's Istanbul are gaining traction on social media. The streets of a neighbourhood in Istanbul were flooded as rainstorms triggered flooding in which seven people were killed, as per news agency Reuters. Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said search and rescue operations were continuing and pledged financial support to families in flood-affected areas. Around 125 kilograms per square meter of rainfall hit Istanbul in less than six hours, equal to what the city would typically expect in a month in September, the governor's office said in a statement.
The clips showed heavy downpours causing several cars to float in flooded waters of Istanbul's northern districts.
"Thankfully, no citizens are stranded in the affected areas, and arrangements have been made to provide shelter for those affected by the flood in public guesthouses and facilities," the governor's office said in the statement, as per Daily Sabah.
"We received nearly 1,150 flood notifications from 112 emergency call centers and an additional 2,540 flood reports from municipalities. Various response teams, including the AFAD (Disaster and Emergency Management Authority ), the fire brigade, the ISKI (Istanbul Water and Sewerage Administration) and municipal rescue teams, are tirelessly working to address these reports. Furthermore, law enforcement, the gendarmerie and health care units are providing full support to these efforts," the statement further said.
The rains followed a particularly dry summer that saw the water reservoirs of the city of 16 million people fall to nine-year lows.
Torrential rain has caused unprecedented flooding in southeast Europe too, damaging infrastructure and prompting evacuations.
At least two people died after torrential rain flooded homes and businesses in central Greece on Wednesday while two people lost their lives due to floods in Bulgaria's Black Sea region on Tuesday.
