14-year-old boy dies during heavy rain in Istanbul — Al Jazeera

In Istanbul, Turkey, a 14-year-old boy died after being electrocuted during heavy rain. According to Al Jazeera, a surveillance camera in the Balat neighborhood of the Fatih district recorded the teenager walking through puddles near the entrance to a parking lot before collapsing. He was taken to hospital unconscious, but the boy could not be saved. The Istanbul Governor’s Office has launched an investigation into the circumstances of his death.

Flooding and road collapses

The downpour began on Tuesday evening after warnings from Türkiye’s meteorological service. Water flooded roads, underpasses, residential buildings, shops and basements in several parts of the city, including Esenyurt and Sultangazi. Parts of roads collapsed in the Eyüpsultan and Gaziosmanpaşa districts.

Emergency services received more than 2,500 weather-related reports. Authorities recorded 1,277 cases of flooding and 15 landslides, while 47 people were trapped due to the consequences of the disaster. More than 800 homes, 280 businesses and 76 vehicles were affected by the severe weather.

Restrictions due to severe weather

Water also entered two hospitals and came through the ceiling of the Haciosman metro station. In Sultangazi, a retaining wall collapsed at a primary school while pupils were in classrooms; there were no reports of children being injured.

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Istanbul Governor Davut Gül urged residents not to leave their homes unless absolutely necessary. He advised residents of basement apartments to spend the night on upper floors and not to approach streambeds, underpasses and other flood-prone areas.

Classes were suspended in the city, and motorcycle traffic was banned from 9:00 p.m. on Wednesday until further notice. Around 8,000 workers and 2,000 vehicles and construction machines were deployed to deal with the aftermath.

The highest rainfall was recorded in the Ömerli area of the Beykoz district on Istanbul’s Asian side, at nearly 194 mm. Acting Mayor Nuri Aslan said that nearly 100 mm of rain fell in some parts of the metropolis within 12 hours.