Heavy rainfall late on Tuesday, May 12, caused rivers in the Havza district of Samsun province, a region near Turkey’s Black Sea coast, to overflow their banks, unleashing floodwaters that swept through streets with enough force to carry vehicles and debris. The Associated Press reported the flooding submerged the basements and ground floors of several properties. Residents and emergency crews faced a scene of inundated homes and businesses as water coursed through the district.
Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency reported that at least 12 people were hospitalized with minor injuries as a result of the flooding. None of the injured were in serious condition, Anadolu said. Some of those hurt made their own way to the hospital, while medical teams assisted others.
Video from the scene showed a driver standing on the roof of a truck, waiting to be rescued from the floodwaters that had rendered the vehicle immobile.
Firefighters, police, and disaster management teams were deployed to the affected area. Their work included rescuing stranded residents and beginning the process of clearing debris left behind by the receding waters.
Havza is located inland from Turkey’s Black Sea coast in Samsun province. The region is no stranger to heavy precipitation, but the intensity of Tuesday’s rainfall proved sufficient to overwhelm local waterways, turning streets into rivers in a matter of hours.