Turkish flood deaths hit 57; dozens still missing

By ZEYNEP BILGINSOY

ISTANBUL (AP) — The decease toll from terrible floods and mudslides on Turkey’s Black Sea seashore has climbed to astatine slightest 57, the country’s exigency and catastrophe bureau said Saturday, arsenic authorities disputed reports that dozens much radical were missing.

Torrential rains that pounded the Black Sea provinces of Bartin, Kastamonu and Sinop connected Wednesday caused flooding that demolished homes, severed astatine slightest 5 bridges, swept distant cars and rendered galore roads unpassable. Turkish catastrophe bureau AFAD said 48 radical were killed successful Kastamonu, 8 successful Sinop and 1 successful Bartin.

Eight radical remained hospitalized, according to the agency.

Speaking precocious Saturday successful Kastamonu, Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said 15 of the dormant had not been identified yet. He slammed absorption parties, societal media users and media for claims that hundreds could beryllium missing. He said a full of 77 cases of missing persons remained successful Kastamonu and Sinop but emphasized that doesn’t needfully mean they were dead. He added the erstwhile fig of missing persons was 143, including duplicate names and immoderate reached alive.

Some residents successful Kastamonu shared names and photos of missing radical connected societal media since the floods began and an absorption lawmaker had said Friday that hundreds could beryllium missing. The provincial governor’s bureau besides said reports that determination were 250 to 300 unidentified bodies were untrue. It did not specifically code however galore radical could beryllium missing successful the flooding.

In Sinop, floodwaters astir wholly wiped retired the colony of Babacay, leaving toppled homes, damaged bridges and rubble successful their wake. A five-story flat gathering constructed connected a riverbed was destroyed, on with galore homes.

Rescue teams and sniffer dogs kept up their painstaking task of trying to find the missing. AFAD said 5,820 personnel, 20 rescue dogs, 20 helicopters and 2 hunt planes were astatine the catastrophe spots.

About 2,250 radical were evacuated crossed the portion amid the floods, scores of them lifted from rooftops by helicopters. Many are being temporarily housed successful pupil dormitories.

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Experts successful Turkey, however, said quality interference with rivers and improper operation besides contributed to the monolithic flood damage.

Geologists accidental operation narrowed the stream furniture and the surrounding alluvial flood plain of the Ezine watercourse successful Kastamonu’s Bozkurt district, wherever the harm was astir severe, from 400 meters (1,312 feet) wide to 15 meters (49 feet). Residential buildings were besides built on the waterfront.

During terrible rains, the constricted watercourse tin lone overflow. Videos posted by residents showed h2o rushing downstream successful Bozkurt arsenic buildings and roads flooded. One geologist, Ramazan Demirtas, explained the stream furniture narrowing connected Twitter and said humans were to blasted for this week’s disaster.

Across the Black Sea, days of dense rainfall besides produced flooding successful wide areas of confederate Russia. Authorities successful the Krasnodar portion said Saturday that much than 1,400 houses flooded pursuing storms that swept the country this week. About 108,000 residents of 11 settlements were near without power.

The determination Russian exigency office said implicit 1,530 radical person been evacuated. The Black Sea edifice metropolis of Anapa was among the worst affected. Officials person warned that dense rainfall was expected for different 2 days.

The floods struck connected the heels of wildfires successful confederate Turkey that devastated forests successful the seaside provinces of Mugla and Antalya, which are fashionable with tourists. At slightest 16 radical died successful those wildfires — including 8 exigency workers arsenic their firefighting level crashed Saturday — and thousands of residents and tourists were forced to flee.

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Associated Press writer Vladimir Isachenkov successful Moscow contributed to this report.

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