2023 Turkey floods
The 2023 Turkish floods were a series of devastating floods that occurred in two Turkish provinces, Şanlıurfa and Adıyaman, on 15 March 2023. The floods were caused by torrential rains that occurred just one month after a deadly earthquake struck the same regions.[2]
.jpg.webp) Şanlıurfa | |
| Date | 15 March 2023 |
|---|---|
| Cause | Floods caused by torrential rains[1] |
| Deaths | 21 |
Impact
At least 21 people died in the floods; 17 in Şanlıurfa and four in Adıyaman.[3] Among the dead included a one-year-old child. A container home in Tut, where earthquake survivors were living, was swept away, killing two people, and four others were reported missing. In Şanlıurfa, five Syrian nationals were found dead inside a flooded basement apartment, while two other bodies were retrieved from a trapped van at an underpass. Additionally, four people were killed, and two firefighters were reported missing.[1][4]
The floods caused extensive damage, and several people were evacuated from a drenched campsite where earthquake survivors were sheltering in tents.[1] In Şanlıurfa, the intensive care unit of the Eyyübiye Training and Research Hospital was flooded, forcing 25 patients to be evacuated. Floods affected traffic; an underpass in Haliliye District was flooded and trapped many people in vehicles.[5] Nearly 2,000 homes and offices were damaged in the province.[6]
Rescue operations
The Turkish disaster management agency reported that more than a dozen professional divers were involved in the rescue efforts in each of the two provinces.[1] Firefighters rescued trapped vehicle occupants at an underpass in Haliliye District.[5]
Impact on earthquake survivors
The floods have increased the misery of thousands of people who were already left homeless and displaced by the earthquake that struck the same region on 6 February 2023, which resulted in the deaths of more than 59,000 people, and collapsed or severely damaged 300,000 buildings.[1]
Response
The Turkish government pledged to provide assistance to those affected by the floods and urged citizens to remain vigilant and take necessary precautions during the ongoing severe weather conditions.[1]
Deputy chairman for the Republican People's Party, Ali Öztunç, criticized the Justice and Development Party, calling them incompetent and uninterested in assisting the affected.[7]
On 15 March, the General Directorate of Meteorology said rain was expected in the earthquake-affected area for the next five days.[6]
References
- "Floods in Turkey kill 13 people in earthquake-affected provinces". www.aljazeera.com. Archived from the original on 16 March 2023. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
- "Death toll from ravaging floods in Türkiye's southeast hits 15". Daily Sabah. 16 March 2023. Archived from the original on 16 March 2023. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
- "Urfa'da sele kapılan TIR sürücüsünün cesedi bulundu: Ölü sayısı 21" (in Turkish). m.bianet.org. 24 March 2023. Retrieved 25 March 2023.
- "Floods kills at least 10 in southeast Turkey, Anadolu says". Reuters. 15 March 2023. Archived from the original on 17 March 2023. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
- Yildirim, Mehmet (16 March 2023). "Şanlıurfa'da sel felaketi can aldı! Ölü sayısı yükseliyor" [Flood disaster took lives in Şanlıurfa! The death toll is rising] (in Turkish). Sabah. Archived from the original on 15 March 2023. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
- "Deprem bölgesinde sel felaketi: Şanlıurfa ve Adıyaman'da 17 kişi hayatını kaybetti" [Flood disaster in the earthquake region: 17 people lost their lives in Şanlıurfa and Adıyaman] (in Turkish). BBC News. 15 March 2023. Archived from the original on 15 March 2023. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
- "CHP'li Öztunç'tan sel tepkisi: Bu ya beceriksizliktir ya da umursamazlıktır!" [Flood response from CHP Öztunç: This is either incompetence or indifference!] (in Turkish). Ege Postası. 15 March 2023. Archived from the original on 15 March 2023. Retrieved 16 March 2023.