Floods in Turkey’s earthquake-hit provinces kill 13

Ankara, March 15

Floods caused by torrential rains hit two Turkish provinces that were devastated by last month’s catastrophic earthquake, killing at least 13 persons and increasing the misery for thousands who were left homeless, officials and media reports said Wednesday. At least two other persons were reported missing.

Two persons died in the town of Tut in southeastern Adiyaman province, where surging waters swept away a container home sheltering a family of earthquake survivors, HaberTurk television reported.

The governor of neighboring Sanliurfa province, Salih Ayhan, told HaberTurk television that four people were killed by the floods in his region. Later, rescuers found the bodies of five Syrian nationals inside a flooded basement apartment in Sanliurfa, and retrieved two other bodies inside a van that was trapped at an underpass.

Television footage from Sanliurfa region showed flood waters surging along a street and sweeping away cars and other vehicles, as well as a man being rescued from the underpass. — AP