Turkey's flood-hit cities declared as 'disaster areas'
SINOP, Turkey, Aug 13 (Reuters) - Emergency workers battled to relieve flood-hit areas of Turkey's Black Sea region on Friday, as the death toll rose to 31 in the second natural disaster to strike the country this month.
The floods, among the worst Turkey has experienced, brought chaos to northern provinces just as authorities were declaring wildfires that raged through southern coastal regions for two weeks had been brought under control.
Torrents of water tossed dozens of cars and heaps of debris along streets, destroyed bridges, closed roads and cut off electricity to hundreds of villages.
"This is the worst flood disaster I have seen," Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu told reporters late on Thursday after surveying damage that extended across the provinces of Bartin, Kastamonu and Sinop.
Twenty-nine people died as a result of floods in Kastamonu and another two people died in Sinop, the Disaster and Emergency Management Directorate (AFAD) said.
Ten people were being treated in hospital, it added.
Opposition politicians said many more people were missing and the number of deaths could rise sharply.
"The infrastructure in Ayancik (district) has completely collapsed. The sewage system is destroyed. There is no electricity or water," Sinop Mayor Baris Ayhan told Reuters.
SINOP, Turkey, Aug 13 (Reuters) - Emergency workers battled to relieve flood-hit areas of Turkey's Black Sea region on Friday, as the death toll rose to 31 in the second natural disaster to strike the country this month.
The floods, among the worst Turkey has experienced, brought chaos to northern provinces just as authorities were declaring wildfires that raged through southern coastal regions for two weeks had been brought under control.
Torrents of water tossed dozens of cars and heaps of debris along streets, destroyed bridges, closed roads and cut off electricity to hundreds of villages.
"This is the worst flood disaster I have seen," Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu told reporters late on Thursday after surveying damage that extended across the provinces of Bartin, Kastamonu and Sinop.
Twenty-nine people died as a result of floods in Kastamonu and another two people died in Sinop, the Disaster and Emergency Management Directorate (AFAD) said.
Ten people were being treated in hospital, it added.
Opposition politicians said many more people were missing and the number of deaths could rise sharply.
"The infrastructure in Ayancik (district) has completely collapsed. The sewage system is destroyed. There is no electricity or water," Sinop Mayor Baris Ayhan told Reuters.
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