Turkey: The death toll from the floods rises to 17

At least 17 people have been killed in floods swept through northern Turkey, authorities said today.

“Fifteen people have unfortunately lost their lives in Kastamonu province and two in Sinopi province,” the Disaster Management Authority (AFAD) said in a press release.

The previous report said that at least 11 was raised the number of people who lost their lives Floods swept across the Black Sea region of Turkey, causing mud torrents and debris to flood roads and destroy bridges, the second natural disaster to hit the country this month.

The floods have wreaked havoc in Turkey’s northern provinces, at a time when authorities announced that some of the fire fronts that burned the south coast for two weeks have been brought under control.

Ten people were killed in floods in Kastamonu province and another was killed in Sinop, authorities said.

More than 1,300 people have been evacuated from the affected areas, some with the help of helicopters and boats, and nearly 700 people are being housed in dormitories, the Disaster Management Authority (AFAD) said.

Helicopters landed members of the Coast Guard on the roofs of buildings, in order to save people who were trapped there, as torrents had flooded roads, according to plans released by the country’s interior ministry.

More than 320 villages are in darkness due to damage to the electricity grid. Five bridges collapsed and many others were damaged, closing roads, according to AFAD.

Torrential rains in the area are expected to subside tonight, AFAD said, as authorities announced that 299 forest fires, which had swept across the southwestern provinces in the past two weeks, had been brought under control.

«ΕκφI offer my condolences to the relatives of our 17 fellow citizens who lost their lives. All our institutions have been mobilized in the affected areas “, said today the President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan.