Istanbul Flood Death Toll Reaches 8, Governor Says; One Person Still Missing

The death toll from last week's flooding in and around Istanbul rose to eight on Monday, Oct. 19, after rescuers recovered more bodies. Istanbul Governor Davut Gül said search teams are still looking for one more missing person.

Gül told reporters that six people died in Istanbul and two died in neighboring Kocaeli province. The two Kocaeli victims were swept downstream and found in the Pendik area, on Istanbul's southeastern edge.

How the count moved

The rain hit on Wednesday, Oct. 14. Gül described it as the heaviest in Istanbul since measurements began in 1942. The state-run Anadolu Agency reported that the city got more rain in the 48 hours up to Thursday morning than its combined historical average for September and October.

The count has climbed in steps. By Thursday, Gül said three people were dead and five were missing. The toll reached four on Friday, per the Associated Press.

On Monday morning, the governor's office said a body was found around 7:30 a.m. near the Ayvansaray ferry pier on the Golden Horn. An initial examination identified him as Haşim Ciritlioğlu, who had been reported missing. The governor's office put the Istanbul toll at six at that point.

The Kocaeli deaths came from a single vehicle. Three people were in a car caught by floodwater in the Kadılla neighborhood of Gebze. One got out on his own. Search teams recovered the bodies of the other two, 32-year-old Fatih Demirtaş and Doğan Arslan, in the Göçbeyli area of Pendik. Gendarmerie, firefighters, medical crews, the disaster agency AFAD and underwater teams worked the search.

The tally differs by outlet depending on whether Kocaeli is included. The governor's combined figure is eight.

Other deaths from earlier in the week are on record. A 14-year-old boy was electrocuted Wednesday evening after stepping into a pool of water in a park in Balat. A 34-year-old person died after slipping on a flooded street in Sarıyer and striking their head on a curb, Anadolu reported. A 66-year-old man's body was recovered from beneath a bridge in Ayazağa.

A construction worker, Faik Şentürk, died Thursday after falling into a well while pumping floodwater at a school construction site in Beykoz. It was not clear whether his death is in the official total.

Damage and aid

Gül said authorities have received about 19,300 reports of problems, which he put at nearly 20,000 reports of property damage. About 2,000 homes and 900 businesses suffered serious damage, he said.

On Friday, Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi said about 46,000 staff were working across the city. At that point emergency services had received 9,850 verified reports. Gül said 3,050 people had been rescued and that no one was still awaiting rescue.

The state has begun cash payments. Authorities paid 10,000 lira (about €180) to 5,200 affected residents on Friday. Gül said another 2,500 people will receive the same amount on Monday.

Residents who could not return home were housed in hotels and public facilities. The Kağıthane Stream overflowed, flooding nearby businesses and the historic Sadabat Mosque.

Investigations

Justice Minister Akın Gürlek said criminal investigations have been opened into the flood-related deaths. Their purpose is to establish the circumstances and whether negligence or wrongdoing contributed. The Istanbul governor's office said investigations were opened into the deaths of the 14-year-old in Balat and the person who died in Sarıyer.

No charges have been announced. Istanbul has about 16 million residents. What the investigations find on the two street-level deaths, and how the final count is reconciled once the last missing person is found, remain to be seen.

Gül said search efforts are continuing.