Families of those missing after Turkey’s worst floods in years anxiously watched rescue teams search buildings on Saturday, fearing the death toll from the raging torrents could rise further.
At least 57 people have died from the floods in the northern Black Sea region, the second natural disaster to strike the country this month.
Drone footage by Reuters showed massive damage in the flood-hit Black Sea town of Bozkurt, where emergency workers were searching demolished buildings.
Forty-eight people died as a result of floods in the Kastamonu district, which includes Bozkurt, and another eight people died in Sinop and one in Bartin, the disaster and emergency management directorate said.
In one collapsed building along the banks of the swollen river, 10 people were believed to be still buried. The rapid flood waters appeared to have swept away the foundations of several other apartment blocks. Relatives of the missing, desperate for news, were nearby.
“This is unprecedented. There is no power. The mobile phones were dead. There was no reception. You couldn’t receive news from anyone,” said Ilyas Kalabalik, a 42-year-old resident.
“We had no idea whether the water was rising or not, whether it flooded the building or not. We were just waiting, like this. Our wives and children were panicked. Once sun came up in the morning, we saw police officers. They took us from the building and hurled us into a gas station.“
Kalabalik was surrounded by residents who were asking each other whether anyone had any news about missing people.
“My aunt’s children are there. My aunt is missing. Her husband is missing. Her twin grandchildren are missing. The wife of our building manager is missing along with their two children,” Kalabalik said.
The floods brought chaos to northern provinces just as authorities were declaring wildfires that raged through southern coastal regions for two weeks had been brought under control.
About 18 inches (45cm) of rain fell in less than three days in one village near Bozkurt. Torrents of water tossed dozens of cars and heaps of debris along streets, destroyed bridges, closed roads and cut off electricity to hundreds of villages.
Bozkurt lies in a valley along the banks of the Ezine in Kastamonu province, 1.6 miles (2.5km) from the Black Sea.