Four people were killed when heavy rains triggered flooding and landslides on Tuesday in the north-eastern provinces of Trabzon and Rize on Turkey’s Black Sea coast, the Anatolia news agency reported.
Three people from the same family, including two children aged one and nine, perished when their wooden house in a small village near the town of Caykara in Trabzon collapsed in a landslip, according to Minister of Housing and Civil Works Faruk Nafiz Ozak quoted by Anatolia.
A 56-year-old woman drowned when she was swept away by a stream that burst its banks in a rural area near Guneyce town in the neighbouring province of Rize, the agency said.
Floods also affected other nearby towns, where several houses and offices were inundated, while bridges were swept away and roads were blocked by the rising waters, the agency said.
Ozak said the torrential rains, which started at about 6.30am on Tuesday, have ceased and waters have started receding, assisting relief efforts.
The minister said authorities have checked the region to find no stranded people as reported earlier, but added that an army helicopter has been called in to fly over the region to assist any who may be in need.
Turkey’s lush Black Sea Coast region is prone to seasonal floods and landslides. Many people live in traditional wooden houses perched on hillsides in the area. — Sapa-AFP