The death toll from last week's severe flooding and mudslides in northern Turkey has risen to at least 70, with 47 people still unaccounted for, AP reports.
The big picture: Torrential rains in the Black Sea coastal provinces of Bartin, Kastamonu, Sinop and Samsun on Wednesday caused flooding and mudslides that destroyed homes and buildings — prompting more than 2,400 people to be evacuated across the region.
- During the floods, more than 330 villages were left without electricity. Roughly 40 villages are still without power as of Sunday, per AP.
- The Turkish disaster management agency, AFAD, said some 8,000 personnel, backed by 20 rescue dogs, are involved in the rescue and assistance efforts.
What they're saying: Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said the scene marked "the most severe flood disaster I have seen," per AP, noting that the floodwaters reached 3 or 4 meters (10–13 feet) in some areas on Wednesday.
- President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan visited the area on Friday. "With God’s permission, we will overcome this disaster as well. We will do whatever it takes as a state ... and hopefully, we will rise from our ashes," Erdogan said.
Background: The damaging rain came just days after the publication of a sweeping climate assessment by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which links trends in extreme precipitation to human-caused climate change.
- The floods also come after wildfires blazed through southern Turkey, killing at least eight people and forcing thousands of residents to flee.