UPDATE- Death toll from floods in Turkey's Black Sea region rises to 62

UPDATES DEATH TOLL; EDITS THROUGH

By Muhammed Boztepe and Merve Aydogan

ANKARA (AA) - The death toll from floods in Turkey's Black Sea region has risen to 62, authorities said on Sunday.

Floods caused by heavy rain hit the Black Sea region in the north of the country on Wednesday, leaving 52 people dead in the province of Kastamonu, a Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) statement said.

Nine others died in the Sinop province and one more person in the Bartin province.

According to a statement by the governor's office in Bartin, 13 bridges were destroyed in the flood, while at least 45 buildings were heavily damaged.

A total of 62 people are reported missing in Kastamonu, with 14 others in Sinop, Turkey’s Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said on Saturday after inspecting the situation in the Bozkurt district in Kastamonu province alongside Environment and Urbanization Minister Murat Kurum and Energy and Natural Resources Minister Fatih Donmez

"We delivered 20 tons of food yesterday and today by helicopter alone," Soylu said, adding that officials were trying to meet the needs of victims – from funerals to damage assessment.

Kurum said there were at least 454 severely damaged and ruined buildings in the three provinces, adding that authorities were working on building new structures within the next year.

Some 1,067 workers in Bartin, 4,526 in Kastamonu, and 2,492 in Sinop are conducting relief work in the affected areas, the disaster management agency said.

A total of 359 people in Bartin, 1,480 in Kastamonu, and 539 in Sinop were evacuated to safe areas by helicopters and boats, it added.

Meanwhile, 223 volunteers, nine catering trucks, and 54 vehicles sent by the Turkish Red Crescent to the region are working on the ground.