Flash flooding across Istanbul has killed four people and left five missing after torrential rain inundated neighborhoods, homes, and businesses. Istanbul Governor Davut Gul announced the updated casualty figures as emergency crews continued searching for missing individuals and rescuing residents stranded by rapidly rising waters.
Seven injured people have been successfully discharged from local hospitals, according to Gul. Authorities have also begun assessing structural and property damage as weather conditions improved in certain parts of the city. Extensive recovery and search operations remain heavily underway across multiple districts.
Details of Casualties and Ongoing Search Operations
The death toll rose to four following an incident involving Faik Senturk, a worker at a school construction site in Beykoz. Senturk fell into a water-filled pit while working to drain accumulated floodwater from the site. Earlier, authorities had reported three deaths and four missing people after another body was recovered near a bridge in Sadabat Park, located in the Kagithane district.
The severe weather marked some of the heaviest measured rainfall in Istanbul since 1985, triggering widespread disruption. Emergency services deployed thousands of personnel, vehicles, and boats to handle thousands of calls for assistance, evacuate residents from flooded basement apartments, and clear blocked thoroughfares.
Impact on Infrastructure and Public Services
The intense downpours paralyzed major transport arteries, prompting flight diversions and cancellations at Istanbul Airport. Public schools across the province were ordered closed as municipal leaders and disaster management agencies warned residents to avoid non-essential travel and stay clear of underpasses and overflowing creeks.
Urban planning associations and experts noted that decades of dense construction and the widespread sealing of natural soil surfaces have severely reduced the city’s capacity to absorb heavy rainfall. This exacerbates the impact of extreme weather events on Turkey’s largest metropolitan hub.
