UPDATE - Death toll from floods in Turkey's Black Sea region rises to 44

UPDATES DEATH TOLL, HEADLINE, DECK, LEDE; ADDS DETAILS

By Merve Aydogan, Omer Faruk Cebeci, and Selim Bostancı

ANKARA/BARTIN, Turkey (AA) - The death toll from floods in Turkey's Black Sea region has risen to 44, authorities said on Saturday.

Floods caused by heavy rains hit the Black Sea region in the north of the country on Wednesday, leaving 36 people dead in the province of Kastamonu, a Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) statement said.

Seven others died in the Sinop province, while search efforts for one missing person was concluded in Bartin province.

Arife Unal, an 85-year-old woman, drowned and was swept way during the floods in Bartin. Four days of search and rescue efforts ended after finding her lifeless body 600 meters (1,970 feet) from her house.

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

Rescue and relief operations continue in the flood-hit areas, the statement added.

Nearly 947 workers in Bartin, 3,110 in Kastamonu, and 1,763 in Sinop are conducting relief work in the affected areas, according to a AFAD statement.

A total of 341 people in Bartin, 1,480 in Kastamonu, and 526 in Sinop were evacuated to safe areas by helicopters and boats, statement added.

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

On Friday, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited the Bozkurt district in Kastamonu, the worst-hit flood area.

"We will do our best as a state as quickly as possible, and hopefully we will rise from our ashes again," he said.

The president added that he would make an on-the-spot assessment together with Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu, Transport and Infrastructure Minister Adil Karaismailoglu, and Environment and Urbanization Minister Murat Kurum. The necessary steps will be taken after the assessment, he said.

Later in the day, Erdogan announced that the places affected had been declared a disaster area.

These places will be able to defer tax dues and local tradespeople will be allowed to postpone payments to the country's Social Security Institution. Assistance will also be provided to cover property, vehicle, and workplace losses.

Businesses' loan repayments will also be postponed, with the state to prepare an emergency support plan for disaster-hit areas.