Thunderstorms and heavy rain hit Istanbul during the Tuesday evening rush hour on 3 November, leaving water on streets in many districts and pushing citywide traffic density to 89%, the Anadolu Agency (AA) and NTV reported. The Istanbul Governorship has issued a yellow warning for all districts on both sides of the city for Wednesday, 4 November, with heavy showers and strong winds expected.
Gridlock on the roads
Citywide traffic density reached 89% on the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (İBB) traffic map, AA and NTV reported. NTV said congestion built up on the D-100 highway between Beylikdüzü and the 15 Temmuz Şehitler (Bosphorus) Bridge, on the TEM motorway and the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge in both directions, on Büyükdere Avenue between Zincirlikuyu and Levent, and on the D-100 between Kadıköy and Ataşehir on the Asian side. Traffic was also slow around RAMS Park ahead of Galatasaray’s Champions League match against Stuttgart, NTV and Yeni Akit reported.
Wednesday: showers, thunder and strong northerly winds
According to the governorship warning, which is based on assessments by the Turkish State Meteorological Service (MGM), intermittent and locally heavy showers are expected from Wednesday morning, NTV, Milli Gazete and TGRT Haber reported.
Strong northerly winds of 40 to 60 km/h are forecast after midday, reaching 50 to 70 km/h at times in some areas, the outlets reported. Temperatures are expected to fall to around 12 to 14°C. The governorship warned of flooding, water accumulation, landslides, lightning and transport disruption.
Istanbul is one of 21 provinces under a yellow warning for Wednesday on a list shared by the Ministry of Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change, based on MGM data, which also includes Muğla, İzmir and Aydın, as reported in our Aegean heavy rain coverage.
Schools
As of Tuesday evening, the Istanbul Governorship had not announced any suspension of classes for Wednesday, so schools are expected to open as normal, Istanbul Ticaret Gazetesi and Milli Gazete reported.
Sources
- İstanbulda sağanak ilçelerde su baskınına yol açtı, trafik yoğunluğu yüzde 89du (Haberler.com / AA)
- İstanbulda trafik kilit. Yoğunluk yüzde 89a çıktı (NTV)
- Sağanak yağış ve maç, trafiği kilitledi: İstanbulda yoğunluk yüzde 89a ulaştı (Yeni Akit)
- İstanbula sağanak ve fırtına uyarısı! Valilik saat verdi (Milli Gazete)
- İstanbul için peş peşe uyarı! Valilik ve AKOM saat verdi (TGRT Haber)
- Yarın okullar tatil mi? İstanbul için kuvvetli yağış sonrası Valilik açıklaması geldi mi? (İstanbul Ticaret Gazetesi)
- 4 Kasım İstanbul tatil durumu, okul var mı, tatil mi? (Milli Gazete)
Photo: Reise Reise / CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
