Heavy rain that began on Wednesday evening flooded homes, workplaces and greenhouses in Demre, a district on Antalya’s western coast, and closed the D-400 highway between Demre and Kaş, Anadolu Agency (AA) reported. No one was hurt.
Streams in the Çevreli and Üçağız neighbourhoods overflowed and water pooled on the roads. Some drivers were caught by the downpour and stuck in their vehicles, and municipal teams rescued them, AA said. Teams from the municipality, the fire brigade, the gendarmerie and AFAD, the national disaster agency, were sent to the area.
Coastal highway closed
The Demre-Kaş section of the D-400, the main road along the coast, was closed because of the flooding. None of the reports we read on Wednesday night or Thursday morning gave a reopening time.
Demre’s district governor (kaymakam), Emin Bağlı, told AA that no one had been killed or injured. He said one call had come in about people stranded on a road closed by floodwater, and that officials were waiting for the water to go down. He said the district had seen "the same flood disaster" before.
"Same disaster 15 days ago"
Demre Mayor Fahri Duran said the same homes and greenhouses had been flooded about 15 days earlier. He said dry streambeds cannot carry the water when rainfall is above seasonal norms, so it flows towards the village. The State Hydraulic Works (DSİ) had recently started some work, he said, but the village needs more comprehensive measures. He called for support from Antalya Metropolitan Municipality, its water utility ASAT and DSİ.
According to TRT Haber and GZT, citing AA, Duran inspected the flooded Çevreli, Üçağız, Kapaklı and Yavu neighbourhoods with Bağlı, DSİ 13th Regional Director Özhan Erdanışman, ASAT General Manager Cengiz Gülebay and village heads (muhtars). The damage was recorded on site and possible repair work was discussed. No figures for the number of flooded homes or greenhouses were given.
Warnings for Thursday
The Turkish State Meteorological Service (MGM) has orange warnings in place for parts of Antalya, Muğla, Mersin and Adana on Thursday, as set out in our Republic Day weather warning report. Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi urged people in those provinces on social media to take particular care and said AFAD was coordinating preparations, Sputnik Türkiye reported.
Earlier this week, rain also flooded greenhouses and roads in Kaş, Kumluca and Finike, as we reported on Tuesday. For more on the area, see our guide to living in Kaş and Kalkan.
Sources
- Demre’deki selde yaralı ve can kaybı yok, D-400 karayolu ulaşıma kapandı (AA via Son Dakika)
- Antalya’da sağanak sele neden oldu: Evler, yollar ve seraları su bastı (TRT Haber)
- Antalya Demre’de sel felaketi! Sağanak sonrası ev ve seraları su bastı (GZT)
- Demre’de 15 Gün Sonra Aynı Kabus! Dereler Taştı, Seralar Sular Altında (Akdeniz Gerçek)
- Dereler taştı, 24 saatlik yeni uyarı geldi (NTV)
- Bakan Mustafa Çiftçi’den turuncu ve sarı kodlu il uyarıları (Sputnik Türkiye)
Photo: Caleb Maclennan / CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
