ISTANBUL, Aug.11 (Reuters) – Flooding caused by unusually heavy rainfall hit Turkey’s northern coast on Wednesday, destroying a bridge and leaving villages without power, after some of the biggest forest fires in Turkey’s history. country have ravaged its southwest.
State broadcaster TRT Haber said one person died of a heart attack in the northern province of Bartin and rescuers were looking for another missing person.
Thirteen people were also injured after a bridge collapsed in Bartin and there were power outages in 12 villages, the Presidency of Disaster and Emergency Management (AFAD) said.
In Sinop province, 240 km east of Bartin, a house collapsed due to the flood and cars were stuck in the water, Reuters footage showed.
AFAD said a hospital was being evacuated and some roads were closed in Sinop, warning that heavy rains in the area were expected to continue.
Heavy rains also caused a river to overflow in Kastamonu, some 70 km inland, dragging cars and debris downstream, TRT footage showed.
A hydroelectric power station was inundated as water levels rose, TRT said, adding that efforts to rescue people stranded in the area continued.
Northern Turkey is prone to flash floods in summer when the rains are particularly heavy. Last year at least five people were killed in flooding in the area.
Turkey has also battled wildfires that have burned tens of thousands of hectares of forest along its southern coast in the past two weeks. Read more
The UN climate panel this week issued a terrible warning that levels of greenhouse gases around the world are high enough to ensure climate change for decades. Read more
The already recorded 1.1 degree Celsius warming was enough to trigger disastrous weather conditions, including fires in Turkey, Greece and the United States.
Reporting by Ezgi Erkoyun and Yesim Dikmen; Written by Ali Kucukgocmen; Editing by Dominic Evans, Tomasz Janowski and Anil D’Silva
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