UPDATE - Floods hit Turkey’s Black Sea provinces

UPDATES WITH MORE EVACUATIONS IN SINOP

By Gokhan Yilmaz, Selim Bostanci, Gokhan Gucukluoglu, and Muhammed Nuri Erdogan

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

In the Ulus district of Bartin, one of the hardest-hit areas, Arife Unal, 85, went missing after her house was destroyed by floods. Gendarmerie, coast guard, and Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) teams along with locals continue the search.

Deputy Interior Minister Ismail Catakli also confirmed that one person was missing after floods and landslides caused by heavy rains hit around Bartin’s Kumluca district.

The floods also damaged many houses and businesses while also sweeping away vehicles in Bartin.

Thirteen people were injured in various areas of Bartin, with vehicles overturned due to a collapsed bridge. The injured were taken to nearby hospitals.

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

The northern Sinop province was also affected by the floods, with a public hospital in the Ayancik district evacuated, according to AFAD.

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

The evacuation of the stranded residents is still continuing in Ayancik’s Avdullu village, where around 70 people are waiting, it also said.

Officials in Sinop said on social media that heavy rains will continue Wednesday and Thursday, warning the public of possible floods and landslides.

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

*Writing by Iclal Turan in Ankara