Aug 13, 2021: Search and rescue crews have recovered 10 more bodies overnight, bringing the death toll from flash floods and landslides in northern Turkey to 27.

The floods on Wednesday devastated the Black Sea coastal provinces of Bartin, Kastamonu, Sinop and Samsun, demolishing houses and bridges and washing away cars. Hundreds of people were rescued by helicopters, while 1,700 others were evacuated.

Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency, or AFAD, said rescuers on Friday recovered 10 more bodies in the worst-hit Kastamono, bringing the death toll to 27. More than 5,000 personnel, 19 helicopters and 500 vehicles were involved in the rescue operation, which was supported by NGOs and the army.

Floodwaters inundated most of the town of Bozkurt in Kastamono, where one building collapsed and another was severely damaged. At least 13 people were injured when part of a bridge overturned in Turkey’s Bartin province.

The AFAD said the floods destroyed five bridges and damaged two others. Hundreds of villages lost power and many roads were blocked. Speaking in Bozkert late Thursday night, Interior Minister Suleiman Sowello called the scenes “the worst flood disaster I’ve ever seen.”

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan offered his condolences to the families of those killed in the floods. Erdogan said on Twitter, “We want to rescue our citizens trapped in flood-prone areas, reactivate partially or completely blocked transport arteries and address all complaints of flood damage. We will continue to work day and night to end it. ”

Turkey’s Black Sea region is often affected by heavy rains and floods. Last month, floods in the eastern Black Sea coastal province of Rize killed at least six people.

The catastrophe occurred as firefighters in southwestern Turkey worked to extinguish a forest fire in the Mugla province, a popular tourist destination along the Aegean Sea. Thursday’s blaze was one of more than 200 wildfires in Turkey since July 28.

At least eight people were killed and thousands more were evacuated in the most recent episode of wildfires in Turkey.

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