Istanbul floods kill 14-year-old boy, trap bus passengers and close schools for a day

Storm floods Istanbul streets

Heavy rain that began on the evening of Tuesday 13 October turned roads in Istanbul into fast-moving water, and the downpour carried on into Wednesday 14 October. Floodwater reached homes, shops, underground car parks, underpasses and metro stations across a city of about 16 million people. Between 06:00 and 20:00 on Wednesday, the Istanbul governorate logged 2,518 calls linked to the weather, including 1,277 reports of flooding, 47 cases of people trapped and 15 landslides. The Istanbul Disaster Coordination Center (AKOM) recorded 50 to 95 mm of rain in seven districts and warned that heavy rain and strong winds would continue in the coming days. Meteorologists quoted by local media expected the extreme weather to persist for several more days.

Death of a 14-year-old boy

A 14-year-old boy died after he was electrocuted in the Balat neighborhood of the Fatih district. Video released by the metropolitan municipality shows him trying to pass through a pothole covered by rainwater, after which he collapsed on the street. Turkish outlets reported that he had been in the Tsukurbostan park when the incident happened. The Istanbul governorate's office said the boy was taken to hospital unconscious and could not be saved despite medical efforts. The office has opened an investigation into the circumstances of his death.

Trapped passengers and rescues

Passengers on a bus in the Sariyer district panicked when the vehicle stalled and began filling with water, and footage shows people trying to get above the rising water inside it. Bystanders pulled a woman to safety after floodwater swept her across a road in Esenyurt, a rescue captured on a mobile phone. Firefighters freed a person trapped in a flooded underground apartment in Kucukcekmece, who had gone back inside to fetch medicine. In Sariyer, residents who could not cross an overflowing stream were pulled to safety with ropes thrown to them by others. Cars were swept away in another district, and part of a retaining wall at a school in Sultangazi collapsed without injuries.

Schools, traffic and restrictions

Authorities closed schools for one day on Thursday 15 October, and public sector workers with disabilities as well as mothers of young children were granted leave. Residents were asked to stay at home unless travel was essential, and people living in basement flats were told to spend the night somewhere else. Motorcycle traffic was temporarily banned, according to SKAI. The municipality put citywide congestion at 72%, with 83% on the Asian side and 67% on the European side, while the D-100 and TEM motorways suffered long delays.

Floodwater also reached metro, tram and bus stations, and a school courtyard in Beykoz was flooded. In Buyukcekmece, students lined up desks to cross the water and reach their high school. Muddy runoff turned the Bosphorus shores at Sariyer and Beykoz brown.