Deadly flash flooding triggered by the heaviest rainfall Istanbul has seen in 84 years has left two people dead and hundreds displaced, according to a report from BBC Turkish. City officials have declared emergency measures, including school closures and targeted administrative leave for vulnerable workers, as the region braces for continued severe weather.
The two fatalities were identified as a 14-year-old boy and a 34-year-old man. The teenager was electrocuted after stepping into a waterlogged puddle, and the Istanbul governorship has launched an official investigation into his death. The man died after slipping on a flooded road and striking his head against the pavement. Multiple districts across the sprawling Istanbul metropolitan area, home to more than 16 million people, have reported significant damage. In Sariyer district, an underground shopping center car park was entirely inundated, leaving dozens of vehicles submerged. Other parts of the city have reported collapsed road sections and a local river that overflowed its banks, leaving cars trapped in standing water in multiple neighborhoods.
As of Thursday, local officials confirmed that 595 stranded residents have been rescued and evacuated to safe shelters. More than 8,000 emergency response workers have been deployed across the city to assist with rescues, clear floodwaters, and repair damaged infrastructure. Istanbul Deputy Mayor Nuri Aslan announced that metro operating hours have been extended to 2:00 a.m. local time to accommodate residents, and urged the public to use public transportation instead of private vehicles to reduce congestion and risk for travelers. “I urge all our citizens to remain vigilant against the expected heavy rain and storm, particularly during nighttime hours,” Aslan shared in a post on X.
Istanbul Governor Davut Gül has advised residents to stay indoors unless travel is absolutely essential. According to Turkish Interior Ministry data, some parts of the city have already received rainfall equal to one-seventh of the city’s average annual precipitation, with more rain forecast in the coming days. In response to the ongoing weather emergency, all schools in Istanbul were ordered closed for Thursday and Friday. The Interior Ministry has also issued flood warnings for several other neighboring Turkish provinces.
Adminstrative leave has been authorized for at-risk public sector workers to reduce unnecessary travel and risk: the policy applies to disabled employees, pregnant workers, military veterans, and female public sector employees who have children under the age of 8. Employees working in critical emergency sectors including healthcare, public safety, and rainwater drainage are exempt from the leave order.
The flooding has also disrupted air travel to Istanbul, with BBC Turkish reporting that 46 commercial aircraft were unable to land at the city’s major airports Thursday due to poor weather conditions and unsafe infrastructure.