Days of heavy rains in northwest Turkey caused flooding in several of the country’s Black Sea Provinces on 27 June 2022. Bridges and roads were destroyed. Two people were reported missing. Turkey’s emergency and disaster authority AFAD said over 200 people have been rescued or evacuated. Catastrophic flooding hit the region in August last year where more than 80 people lost their lives.
Turkey’s General Directorate of Meteorology issued red level warnings for heavy rain in the provinces of Kastamonu, Sinop, Bartın, Karabük, Düzce and Zonguldak. With last year’s disaster fresh in the memory, emergency, provincial and local authorities prepared for significant flooding. AFAD said 899 vehicles, 3 aircraft, 7 mobile base stations and 1 Mobile Coordination Truck, and a total of 4,684 personnel were deployed to the provinces of Kastamonu, Sinop, Bartın, Karabük, Zonguldak and Düzce.
Emergency teams including Coast Guard helicopters worked to rescue or evacuate residents from flooded area in the provinces of Bartın, Zonguldak and Kastamonu. AFAD said a total of 235 citizens were rescued or evacuated, including 15 in Bartın, 90 in Zonguldak and 130 in Kastamonu. Over 100 people had moved to emergency shelters, including 30 in Sinop, 11 in Bartın and 60 in Zonguldak.
Turkey’s Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said on 28 June that two people were reported missing in the floods. One person was swept away by floods in İkizciler Village, Küre district of the Kastamonu Province. Another person went missing after floods in Kaynaşlı in Düzce Province.
Two pedestrian bridges were destroyed in İnebolu, Kastamonu, where businesses were closed due to high levels of the Söke Stream which runs through the city and into the Black Sea. Six major roads in the province were closed to traffic due to flood damage.
In 48 hours to 27 June, Inebolu in Kastamonu recorded nearly 200 mm of rain. Heavy rain in the region began on 24 June 2022, with the city of Bartin recording 98.1 mm of rain in 24 hours to 25 June. Heavy rain has continued to affected Black Sea Provinces over the last 24 hours. Hendek in Sakarya Province recorded 149.4 mm of rain in 24 hours to 28 June, and Devrek in Zonguldak 142 mm in the same period.
Recently heavy rain caused flooding in parts of the Crimea, and in Russia’s Krasnodar Region on the Black Sea coast.
Earlier this month flooding affected several provinces in Turkey, including dramatic flooding in the capital Ankara. A total of 5 people lost their lives as a result.
