For the second time in 10 days, flood water has surged through the streets of Bodrum. The Turkish city which is the gateway to nearby holiday resorts during the summer is currently a scene of flood damage.
Heavy rainfall swept cars down the streets and left them either submerged or stacked. The downpour was preceded by a waterspout, seen to form under a thunderstorm and drift towards the beach. The following rain went on into the night.
Bodrum Mayor Mehmet Kocadon emphasised that citizens were warned in advance of the heavy rain risk: “It was a very interesting situation. It was like a monsoon rain. … There are a lot of floods. Bodrum centre, there is a great disaster around. Bodrum is currently experiencing a historical disaster.”
Flood waters reached one metre in depth and close to 100 houses and workplaces were damaged as a result of the gushing water, mostly in the west of the city.
The rainfall recorded in Bodrum was 44mm. But stations in western Turkey recorded in excess of 120mm daily over the last two days.
The heaviest rain moved away to the east on Friday, taking the prospect of flooding with it. The replacement weather will be a bit of a shock – sunny and dry but colder.
The forecast maximum temperature from Saturday is a 10 degrees Celsius drop on recent days, at 11C. This is nearer the average for an overnight low and a good 8C below the average daytime high for early December.
SOURCE:
Al Jazeera and news agencies
