Following the flood that occurred in Istanbul due to the heavy rain that started yesterday morning, Istanbul Governor Davut Gül met with members of the press in Kemerburgaz and evaluated the situation.
Istanbul Police Chief Selami Yıldız was also present during Governor Gül's statement.
'OVER APPROXIMATELY 270 KILOGRAMS OF RAINFALL HAS FALLED SO FAR'
Governor Gül said, "As you know, there has been heavy rainfall in our city since last night. As a result of this rainfall, approximately 270 kilograms of rainfall has fallen in many places, especially Beykoz. Our Eyüpsultan district was one of the districts that received the most rainfall. Last night, our fellow citizens were stranded in this place, and our police, gendarmerie, coast guard, fire brigade and our friends from other organizations, under the coordination of AFAD, rescued them together. Today, the cleaning started. "Our city is starting to normalize. We are now opening a new page. We came to say get well soon to our friends and to share the new era with you," he said.
'SEARCH EFFORTS CONTINUE FOR 5 MISSING PEOPLE'
Governor Gül said, "As you know, 3 of our citizens passed away. 7 of our citizens were discharged after their treatment in the hospital. As of now, we do not have any of our citizens remaining in the hospital. A missing person report has been filed for 5 people. Our friends' search efforts for them continue. We do not know where they are yet."
'3 THOUSAND 50 PEOPLE WERE SAVED, TEAMS WERE MOBILIZED FOR EVACUATIONS'
Governor Gül said, "As of today, 3 thousand 50 people have been rescued. There is no one waiting to be rescued. The work we will do after this stage is that our district governors, especially our district governors, host our citizens whose houses are flooded or who are in danger of being flooded in safe places, especially hotels and public guesthouses. Our request to our citizens is that they should definitely call 112, apply and not be in risky areas. Apart from this, our district governors should not be in risky areas if their houses are flooded or their workplaces are flooded." "Our fellow citizens expect this water to be drained as soon as possible," he said.
'EVACUATIONS AND CLEANING OF FLOODED HOUSES WILL CONTINUE'
Governor Gül said, "Our Minister of Internal Affairs gave instructions to our AFAD Presidency. Our AFAD Presidency has assigned sewage trucks and similar equipment to municipalities in different provinces. Therefore, starting from tonight, especially tomorrow morning, the evacuations and cleaning of flooded workplaces and flooded houses will continue under the coordination of our AFAD Directorate, together with new vehicles. At the same time, 900 people from AFAD's volunteers will continue to work in this area, especially in Ayazağa in Sarıyer, as of tomorrow." "They will participate in the cleanings voluntarily. In addition, our district governors have started to rent sewage trucks, water pumps and similar equipment by purchasing them from the market in our districts where they are needed," he said.
'PAYMENTS START ON MONDAY AT THE LATEST'
Governor Davut Gül said, "Our damage assessment work continues at full speed. If possible, we will start making payments tomorrow afternoon, at the latest on Monday. We do not allow any of our fellow citizens to remain hungry. Our esteemed President has given us strict instructions in this regard. Our esteemed ministers have an initiative they have given us in this sense. We determine the damages, our friends determine the work that can be done. We mobilize the resources of our nation and our state for our citizens, whatever the public means are reasonably possible. This "I wish God's mercy to the three citizens who lost their lives on this occasion. I offer my condolences to their relatives. I wish health, well-being and well-being to our discharged compatriots. I pray to God that the five compatriots and citizens we searched for will be found as soon as possible. I also thank you for your interest, concern and efforts since the night."
'THERE IS NO CHILD AMONG THE WANTED PEOPLE'
Governor Gül responded to journalists' questions about the search efforts and the identities of the missing: "They got lost mostly in Sarıyer, but our friends are looking at everywhere they can go outside Sarıyer, especially where water can take them. The last person found was also identified, a male, a fellow countryman born in 1960. There is no child among the missing persons applications. There are no children among those sought."
MOTORCYCLE BAN WILL BE LIFTED TOMORROW MORNING
Regarding the ban on motorbikes, one of the measures implemented in traffic, Governor Gül said, "As you know, we banned motorbikes until further notice. Now the city is slowly returning to normal, life is normalizing. Therefore, we are giving permission for our motorbikes to be able to go to traffic as of 06:00 tomorrow. The ban continues until 6 tomorrow morning. After 6, the motorbikes will start to operate freely."
