Minister of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Murat Kurum made a statement to the press after the Istanbul Disaster Coordination Meeting at AFAD Provincial Directorate.
The Authority conveyed its best wishes to the citizens affected by the floods in Istanbul, Antalya, Sakarya and Kocaeli, and expressed its condolences to the relatives and may God have mercy on the 3 people who lost their lives in Istanbul. The institution said that the search efforts of the teams continue uninterruptedly to save the 6 people lost in Ayazağa and Kocaeli. Stating that it has been working in coordination with all institutions of the state from the first moment on the field under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the Authority stated that they evaluated the causes of the flood disaster, its consequences, the situation of the citizens and the resulting picture in detail at the meeting.
The institution emphasized that Istanbul received the highest rainfall in the last 83 years and said, "186 kilograms of rainfall fell per square meter in 24 hours and 273 kilograms so far. 273 kilograms of rainfall per square meter means 27 centimeters of water height. In Sarıyer, Şile, Başakşehir and Güngören, where floods were intense, 27 centimeters of water height fell in those districts in the last 48 hours. After such a rainfall in Istanbul in one day "The occupancy rate in dams increased by 7 percent." he said.
Stating that life safety was their top priority after the disaster, Kurum continued: "As of now, we do not have any citizens waiting for search, rescue or who have not been reached. Our police units have taken all our citizens to safe areas and we are hosting some of them in guesthouses. In this context, our security units rescued 3,057 citizens safely and carried them to safe areas. All shelter requests will be met under the coordination of our Istanbul Governorship. We have 110 vehicles in 14 different points in 39 flood-hit districts. "Our fire brigade and municipalities are providing our citizens with hot soup and assistance to meet their needs. In this context, 48 landslides occurred, 53 retaining walls collapsed due to excessive rainfall in 39 districts. A total of 9 thousand 755 notifications came to this coordination center and our units responded to 7 thousand 800 of them immediately and our state quickly fulfilled whatever requests and needs of our citizens."
"DAMAGE TO 300 WORKPLACES AND 200 VEHICLES WAS DETECTED IN AYAZAĞA"
Minister Kurum stated that they quickly started damage assessment studies, and that the relevant units made determinations under the coordination of AFAD regarding the damage to citizens' property and farmers' products, and said, "Within the framework of the determinations made so far, damage assessments have been made to 300 workplaces and 200 vehicles only in Ayazağa. We aim to complete the damage assessments by the weekend. As a result of the determinations made, our state will provide all kinds of support regarding the property damage of our citizens and the damage to the buildings. May our nation be comforted at this point." he said.
Stating that the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry quickly made determinations regarding the damages of the farmers, Kurum said, "109 of our animals perished. Hopefully, over the weekend, our Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry will be providing assistance to the perished animals of our farmers. I would like to express here that we will meet the needs such as greenhouse tents, feed and hay under the coordination of our Governorship." he said. The institution stated that a total of 6 routes in Eyüpsultan, Sarıyer and Şile were closed to traffic as a precautionary measure in transportation, and stated that a total of 40 thousand citizens, 10 thousand on the Anatolian Side and 30 thousand on the European Side, experienced a power outage and that this was done for precautionary purposes.
Stating that approximately 9 thousand flood reports were received and the teams responded quickly to the reports, the Authority stated that they will continue to intervene to repair the damage in all raids on Saturday at the latest, with both the equipment in the city and the vehicles requested from outside the city.
FLOOD DISASTER IN KOCAELİ AND SAKARYA
The institution stated that heavy rains also affected Kocaeli and Sakarya and that floods occurred in both provinces and continued as follows:
"Approximately 140 kilograms of rain fell per square meter in Sakarya, 1 house was destroyed, 1 bridge collapsed. Floods and stream floods are experienced especially in our Başiskele and Kartepe districts. Our state is on the field in these two cities, we will solve these troubles and problems together, alongside the nation. We will work from house to house, shop to shop, until there is not a single victim citizen left. Just as we did in Kastamonu Bozkurt, just as we did in Giresun." "If we took action quickly in Dereli and delivered our nation's homes within a year after the fire in Antalya, our action after the flood in Istanbul will be the same. Hopefully, our state will quickly meet these needs of our nation with the same understanding as it did in the past."
Stating that the warnings of the General Directorate of Meteorology continue and that they will not give up their precautions, Kurum said, "As of tomorrow morning, we have rain again, especially on the European Side. Our yellow code warning continues for Istanbul and 24 provinces. The rains will continue throughout Istanbul on Saturday. We ask our citizens not to leave the house unless it is necessary. If they have any needs, they can inform our district governors and municipalities. We have an orange warning in Zonguldak and Düzce tomorrow. We are taking all the necessary precautions in these provinces as well. "We request our citizens to be cautious at this point." he said.
"IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO MAKE ISTANBUL A CITY RESISTANT AGAINST ALL DISASTERS"
Minister Kurum stated that every disaster experienced in Istanbul reminds them of a painful truth, stating that climate change is no longer the most important agenda item of the future, but of today, and that excessive rainfall, floods, drought and fires are experienced in many countries of the world, in different geographies, and continue to damage the property and lives of citizens.
Pointing out that the recent events in Brazil and Nepal are the most concrete indicators of climate change, Kurum said, "Unfortunately, climate change affects the precipitation regime and we can now encounter much shorter, more intense precipitation in periods we cannot predict. We cannot plan the future with the data of the past, this is now clear as day. We have to plan our cities not only according to the disasters of the past, but also by taking into account the more severe weather events we will encounter in the future." he said.
The institution emphasized that making Istanbul a city resistant to all disasters is a very important issue and continued as follows: "We are obliged to do this with our citizens, our state and our municipalities. This is the priority and only agenda of Istanbul, this should be. Our state stands by Istanbul and our citizens of Istanbul with all its resources, with the awareness of mobilization within the framework of the instructions of our President. As the Ministry, we are on the field with all our units at the point of preparing our risky residences for disaster. From here, I would like to especially address our municipalities. "Cleaning the stream beds, regular maintenance of stream improvement works, strengthening rainwater drainage systems and re-evaluating flood risks is a responsibility that cannot be postponed. We must act together with our central government, local governments and the scientific world, and take decisive steps to avoid such events."
Stating that they have experienced that the 50-100-year rainfall calculations made so far do not match and that we need to act together according to today's conditions and needs, Kurum said, "Istanbul is the apple of our eye. Any problem of Istanbul is a problem of the Republic of Turkey, a matter of national security. It is our obligation to make the city resilient to disaster risks. We have to work together in line with this obligation." made his assessment.
