Istanbul is in the teeth of a major storm with winds reaching up to 75kph (47mph) and torrential downpours flooding streets and choking the city’s major transport arteries.
Climate scientists warned earlier this month that Istanbul residents should prepare for far more flooding in the future as recent climate dynamics indicate the increased likelihood of ‘supercells’ forming, which have caused major flooding in the city twice already this summer.
“Beyond ordinary weather forecasts and climate studies, Turkey needs to develop expertise on inclement weather. Turkey is not very ready for this,” Murat Türkeş, a professor of Physical Geography, Geology, Climatology and Meteorology at Istanbul’s Boğaziçi University said, as cited by Hurriyet Daily News.
The current storm is expected to subside in the early hours of Wednesday but in the meantime, residents have been forced to take shelter wherever they can as the flood waters rise.
Bus ferry services were also impacted and several flights have been cancelled, reports Sol.