Flash floods in northern Turkey kill four, one missing

Four people were killed in flash floods in Kastamonu in Turkey’s Black Sea region and one person was missing, the Disaster and Emergency Management Directorate (AFAD) said on Thursday.

There was also flooding in the Black Sea provinces of Bartin and Sinop. State broadcaster TRT Haber said on Wednesday one person had died from a heart attack amid the flooding in Bartin.

AFAD said the evacuation of people from impacted areas by helicopters was continuing, adding that there were road closures due to collapsed and damaged bridges.

Television footage showed the floods dragging dozens of cars and heaps of debris along in the streets. The heavy rainfall in the region will ease on Friday, according to data from the weather authority, AFAD said.

Turkey’s north is prone to flash floods in the summer when rains are particularly strong. Last year at least five people were killed in floods in the region.

Turkey has also battled raging wildfires that have burnt tens of thousands of hectares of forest along its southern coast for the last two weeks.