Flash floods in Turkey, including the country’s largest metropolis Istanbul, have left at least 10 people dead and injured more than a dozen as torrential rains sweep across the country.
The downpour started late on Tuesday local time, causing flooding in several districts of Istanbul. Two people died and 31 more were injured.
Istanbul’s Mayor Ekrem Imamoğlu said up to 130 litres per square meter of rain fell over a few hours. Several subway stations and a hospital’s first floor were inundated by floodwater. Many businesses and households were damaged.
Thrace was particularly hard hit. According to reports fron the Anadolu official news agency, flooding swept away a vacation rental in Turkey's Kirklareli province near the Bulgarian border, killing five, and on Monday, flooding in Turkey’s central Anatolian provinces of Aksaray and Nevsehir left at least three people dead.
The torrential downpour came after Turkey registered record high temperatures which resulted in wildfires across the country. The floods also hit neighbouring Greece and Bulgaria this week, with central Greece being most severely affected.