Severe summer storm in Turkey's İstanbul leaves damages across city

Turkey’s İstanbul and some of the surrounding north-western provinces in Marmara region was hit by a severe summer storm at evening hours of Thursday (July 27).

As the heavy rain and wind, combined with about 20-25 minutes long hail storm that came with hailstones with palmful sizes, hit İstanbul the most at evening rush hours, traffic at all major highways; bridges; and, tunnels stopped completely for more than an hour.

While at least 10 people were reported to have been taken to hospitals due to injuries, two people who got stranded under a collapsed wall of an Armenian cemetery in Pangaltı town were also injured.

Windows of many cars and houses were broken; roofs were flown; several trees – including a 176 year old plane tree in Üsküdar’s Çengelköy – were knocked down; and, several roads and buildings were flooded.

A lifting crane of 3 tons at Haydarpaşa Port of Kadıköy fell down on containers full of fuel, causing a major fire. A worker in the area got injured seriously, reports said.

İstanbul’s Cosmopolitan Municipality announced that 16 planes that were supposed to land in İstanbul were directed to land to other cities, while some planes were hit heavily by big hailstones.

As experts warned that similar storms may hit the city again soon, people expressed concern about it on social media, complaining about the lack of an efficient infrastructure across the city.

Source: https://www.birgun.net/haber-detay/firtina-ve-yagis-istanbul-da-etkili-oluyor-171939.html