Heavy rainfall in Turkey hit the city of Istanbul and surrounding areas from the early hours of 18 July 18, flooding streets and and paralysing traffic and public transport.
Many vehicles were abandoned as roads become impassable. The recently opened Eurasia road tunnel was blocked and closed for around 2 hours. Several metro, bus and tram services were temporarily suspended.
The districts of Aksaray and Üsküdar were particularly badly hit. Just outside the city, Silivri in Istanbul Province was one of the worst hit areas. Initial damage assessments there suggested that around 150 buildings suffered flood damage.
Rainfall
In a statement on 18 July, Istanbul Metropolitan Mayor, Kadir Topbaş, said that 65 mm of rain fell in some locations in just 1 hour. The average rainfall for the whole of July in Istanbul is 23.7 mm according to WMO.
Rainfall figures for parts of Istanbul Province from Turkey’s General Directorate of Meteorology for a 24 hour period:
- Eyüp – 44.6 mm
- Fatih – 43.6 mm
- Güngören – 46.0 mm
- Silivri – 98.3 mm
- Üsküdar – 50.9 mm
Social Media
Yetkililer bir açıklama yapmalı araçları sel suyuna karışanların maşa başlayacaklar mi ? pic.twitter.com/XuwMFr26ds
— Emrah Gündüz (@emrahgndz28) July 18, 2017
#yağmur #sel #yagmur #istanbul havaalanı-yenikapı metrosuna su bastı pic.twitter.com/HIIE0SdtTc
— Sandzak (@sandzakego) July 18, 2017
