Death toll from floods in Turkey reaches 62, dozens still missing

TIL Desk/World/Ankara/ The death toll from the severe floods and mudslides in the Black Sea region of Turkey has increased to 62, the country’s emergency and disaster agency said. The floods caused by heavy rain which hit the Black Sea region on August 12, claimed the lives 52 people in the province of Kastamonu.

Nine died in the Sinop province and one in the Bartin, said a statement issued on Sunday by the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority. Rescue efforts in the three provinces continue as 77 others as still missing, Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said.

Torrential rains caused flooding that demolished homes, collapsed bridges, swept away cars and cut power supplies in the western Black Sea region since last week. Turkey has been battling disaster on two fronts as the country newly gained control of wildfires that killed eight people and destroyed swathes of forest along its southwestern and southern coasts.