Turkey floods kill five in earthquake-affected provinces

Floods caused by torrential rains have hit two provinces that were devastated by last month’s earthquake, killing at least 13 people and increasing the misery of thousands who were left homeless, officials said.

Turkish media said the floods killed 11 people in Sanliurfa, about 50 kilometres (30 miles) north of the Syrian border. Two people also died in nearby Adiyaman, including a one-year-old, the reports said.

A number of other people were reported missing as well in Wednesday’s floods.

One person was killed in the town of Tut in southeastern Adiyaman province, where surging waters swept away a container home where a group of earthquake survivors were living, Governor Numan Hatipoglu said. Four people were reported missing.

Video showed flood waters sweeping people and cars down streets in Turkey's #Şanlıurfa, which was hit by February’s deadly earthquakes ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/X2CMgtOgX7

— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) March 15, 2023

Four other people were killed and two firefighters were reported missing from the floods in neighbouring Sanliurfa province, Governor Salih Ayhan told HaberTurk television.

Later, rescuers found the bodies of five Syrian nationals inside a flooded basement apartment in Sanliurfa, and retrieved two other bodies inside a van that was trapped at an underpass.

Several people were evacuated from a drenched campsite where earthquake survivors were sheltering in tents. Patients were also evacuated from a hospital, HaberTurk reported.

Television footage from there also showed floodwaters surging along a street and sweeping away cars.

Turkey’s disaster management agency said more than a dozen professional divers were involved in the rescue efforts in each of the two provinces.

The powerful earthquakes that struck parts of Turkey and Syria on February 6, killed more than 52,000 people – the vast majority in Turkey. More than 200,000 buildings in Turkey either collapsed or were severely damaged.