Torrential rains have caused severe flooding in two Turkish provinces devastated by last month’s earthquake, killing at least 14 people and adding to the suffering of thousands left homeless. The flash floods in Adiyaman and Sanliurfa provinces turned streets into rivers, swept away cars, inundated homes and campsites, and left many in despair.
Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said rescue teams are still searching for five people reported missing in three locations. In Sanliurfa, at least 12 people were killed, including five Syrian nationals whose bodies were found in a flooded basement apartment, and two others who died in a trapped van. In Adiyaman, two people drowned after surging waters swept away a container home sheltering a family of earthquake survivors.
Residents who were evacuated from inundated streets and campsites expressed their misery, with one saying they have even forgotten about the earthquake. Patients were also evacuated from the intensive care unit of a hospital in Sanliurfa.
Turkey’s disaster management agency said that more than a dozen professional divers were involved in the rescue efforts in each of the two provinces. The raging waters caused part of a highway in the region to collapse.
Last month, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck parts of Turkey and Syria, killing over 52,000 people, mostly in Turkey. More than 200,000 buildings in Turkey were severely damaged or collapsed as a result of the earthquake. The recent floods have further worsened the situation for those affected by the disaster.