UPDATE 4 - Floods hit Turkey’s Black Sea provinces

ADDS ENVIRONMENT MINISTER’S VISIT TO FLOOD-HIT BARTIN PROVINCE, STATEMENT BY AFAD, COAST GUARD COMMAND

By Anadolu Agency Staff

BARTIN/SINOP/ARTVIN/ORDU/ANKARA, Turkey (AA) - A new wave of floods due to heavy rains hit Turkey’s northern Black Sea provinces Wednesday, leaving an elderly woman missing and 13 people injured, according to authorities.

In Ulus district of Bartin province, one of the hardest-hit areas, Arife Unal, 85, went missing after her house was destroyed. Teams from the Gendarmerie, Coast Guard and Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) along with residents are continuing the search.

Deputy Interior Minister Ismail Catakli also confirmed that one person was missing after floods and landslides hit Kumluca district.

Floods also damaged homes and businesses while sweeping away vehicles in Bartin.

Thirteen people were also injured when their vehicles overturned due to a collapsed bridge. They were taken to nearby hospitals.

The disaster agency said there were power outages in a dozen villages in Ulus district.

A public hospital in Ayancik district in Sinop province was also evacuated, according to AFAD.

Meanwhile, 19 people who were stranded in their homes due to heavy rains in Ayancik were rescued by two helicopters, the Coast Guard Command said in a statement.

The evacuation of stranded residents is continuing in Avdullu village, where around 70 people are waiting, it said.

The Turkish National Defense Ministry also said military helicopters are in the region to evacuate residents to safe areas and hospitals.

The Interior Ministry warned residents of Kastamonu, Bartin and Sinop not to leave safe zones and to refrain from using roads near floods.

Officials in Sinop said heavy rains will continue Wednesday and Thursday and warned residents of possible floods and landslides.

Kastamonu and Karabuk provinces were also affected by the floods, with water damaging buildings, vehicles and agricultural fields

Meanwhile, in Yusufeli district of Artvin province, two separate groups were stranded on a road when a landslide blocked their way.

The first group consisted of 11 people and the second comprised 10. They asked for help from the local gendarmerie using their mobile phones and were rescued after two hours.

In Fatsa district of Ordu province, five people who were stranded at a fish farm due to flooding were rescued.

Environment and Urbanization Minister Murat Kurum toured the flood area in Ulus district in Bartin late Wednesday.

Speaking at a news conference in the district, Kurum said work to evaluate the cost of the damage in Bartin is underway following the floods. Three buildings were found to be derelict, while three others are heavily damaged.

“Hopefully, we will reach missing Arife Unal as soon as possible and will take steps to heal the wounds of our citizens,” he said.

The damage to the Bartin-Karabuk highway will be repaired and opened to transportation at the latest on Thursday morning, he added.

As many as 300 people were evacuated to safe areas and 15 others were housed in a dormitory as a precaution in Ulus district, AFAD said in a statement late Wednesday.

Treatment of eight out of 13 people who were injured due to the collapsed bridge continues, AFAD said.

There were power outages in a total of 31 villages across Bartin province, it said.

Evacuation of disaster victims continues also in Cide district of Kastamonu province and Ayvancik district of Sinop province, the disaster agency said.

The Kastamonu-Azdavay highway was closed to transportation and there were power outages in 168 villages across the city, it said.

Sinop Turkeli-Ayancık road was opened to transportation while nearly 100 village roads in Ayancik district were closed, it added.

The Turkish Red Crescent has started distributing food and hot meals in the flood-hit areas.

A total of 53 people trapped in Kastamonu and Sinop provinces due to floods were rescued by three helicopters and land crews of the Turkish Coast Guard Command, the command said in a statement.

*Writing by Merve Aydogan, Iclal Turan and Zehra Nur Duz