At least 11 people have died in Turkey, Greece and Bulgaria as flash floods from torrential rainstorms turned rivers into torrents, swept away bridges and inundated streets, homes and public buildings.
Greece’s climate crisis and civil protection minister, Vassilis Kikilias, said after an emergency cabinet meeting: “This is the most extreme phenomenon in terms of the maximum amount of rain in a 24-hour period since records began in the country.”
In Turkey, six holidaymakers were carried away by a torrent that raged through a campsite in the north-western Kırklareli province, near the border with Bulgaria. Two bodies were recovered on Tuesday night and two more on Wednesday morning.
Authorities said more than a dozen holidaymakers were on the site when the floods hit, sweeping away several bungalows. They said a search for the two missing holidaymakers was “continuing uninterrupted”.
Turkish television footage showed rescuers carrying a young girl and an adult to safety from waters that reached waist-high in some areas. The rains also damaged and forced the closure of a main road, Habertürk TV reported.
Two people were killed in Istanbul.
Credit: theguardian.com
