Turkey Floods – Death Toll Near Black Sea Rises To At Least 40

A huge search-and-rescue operation is under way in northern Turkey after flash floods along the Black Sea coast killed at least 40 people and with Kastamonu province being the worst-hit area.

Reports say Apartment buildings in the town of Bozkurt were destroyed when the Ezine river burst its banks.This month Turkey has also had to battle huge wildfires in the south.

It has been a trying period for the country as eight people died when a fire-fighting plane, which had five Russian servicemen and three Turkish citizens were on board, crashed in Adana on Saturday, just before it was due to land.

Those fires – which are now under control – forced thousands of locals and tourists to flee Marmaris and surrounding areas. Eight people died and more than 100,000 hectares of vegetation was devastated.

The floods, triggered by torrential rain, caused some buildings to collapse, smashed bridges, clogged streets with wrecked cars and cut power supplies.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited Kastamonu on Friday and attended a funeral for some of the flooding victims. After leading prayers, he said they can’t bring back the citizens lost, but the state has the means and power to compensate those who lost loved ones.

Erdogan’s government has faced criticism for its handling of Turkey’s recent natural disasters in which over 1,700 people have been evacuated, and as many as 330 villages left without electricity.

Turkey’s latest disaster came in the week that a major UN report warned of more extreme weather events because of human-induced global warming. Flash floods and severe heatwaves are afflicting much of Europe this summer.