Turkey’s flash floods along the Black Sea coast killed at least 27 people over the past few days, official sources revealed.
Furthermore, the floods caused some buildings to collapse, smashed several bridges, and clogged some streets with wrecked cars.
More than 1,700 people have been evacuated during the floods.
Helicopters have participated in the rescue operation, while many were rescued by boat.
However, 330 villages are now without electricity, after the floods damaged power lines.
Turkish Minister Suleyman Soylu described the floods as “the worst flood disaster I have seen”.
Wildfires Continue
The heavy rains came as firefighters authorities are still fighting to put down multiple blazes for the second consecutive day.
Efforts to bring the fire under control continue with official investigations into the cause, amid suspicions of arson.
Around 20 villages were evacuated, and 50 people were taken to the hospital.
Three lives were taken in Antalya and 1 in Mugla.
While the origin of the fires is still being investigated, the hot and dry conditions didn’t help.
The fires also led to mass deaths of livestock in rural areas while locals struggled to lead their herds to safety.
Mayor of Marmaris, Mehmet Oktay, said he couldn’t rule out ‘sabotage’.
Turkey’s Agriculture and Forestry Minister Bekir Pakdemirli urged the public against relying on nonofficial information, emphasising that official investigations are underway.
“Judicial and law enforcement authorities continue their investigation into the cause of the fires. A statement will be made once important findings are uncovered.”
UN Climate Change Warning
The most recent flooding came just days after the United Nations climate panel sounded a dire warning over climate change.
Earlier on Monday, an UN-appointed panel of experts said that the earth is getting so hot that temperatures in about a decade will probably blow past the most ambitious threshold set in the Paris accord.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres described the report as a “code red” for humanity.
He stressed that it “must sound a death knell for coal and fossil fuels before they destroy the planet.”
