At least four people have lost their lives and three others remain missing after the intense torrential rains that have battered the city of Istanbul in recent hours, according to the updated balance provided by its governor, Davut Gul, in a context of forecasts pointing to new precipitation of similar intensity, at least during this coming Saturday.
The Istanbul governor's office has detailed that among the deceased is a fourteen-year-old minor who died electrocuted after stepping on a deep puddle in the Fatih district. The second deceased is a 34-year-old man who suffered a fatal fall while trying to cross a completely flooded street in Ayazaga, while the third identified victim is a 66-year-old man who drowned in the Sariyer neighborhood. The fourth deceased person has not yet been identified.
Local authorities have emphasized that "the heavy rains are negatively impacting daily life" in the city and have announced the establishment of "a crisis management center" to coordinate the response to the emergency, which includes the suspension of in-person classes this Thursday and the deployment of 8,000 agents along with 2,000 units of heavy machinery and support.
Similarly, they have specified that, so far, it has been verified that around 50 people have been trapped by the rising waters, which have also caused damage to more than 800 homes and 76 vehicles. However, they have insisted that operations at the airports continue normally and that, for now, no flight cancellations have been recorded.
In the coming hours, it is expected that the precipitation will be especially strong in the area between Arnavutkoy and Catalca, with the added risk that the ground can no longer absorb more water, which will cause the flooding level to rise more quickly. Forecasts indicate that the rains in Istanbul will last until the morning of Sunday, October 18, although by then it is expected that their intensity will have notably decreased.