16.10.2026 19:30
Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi announced that the flood danger in Sakarya has not yet passed and that an orange warning will continue in 5 provinces tomorrow. Noting that 270 kilograms of rainfall per square meter fell in Ferizli, Çiftçi said that 865 people were evacuated in the city, 2 buildings and 5 bridges were destroyed, and 170,000 poultry perished.
Speaking about the flood disaster in Sakarya, Minister of Interior Mustafa Çiftçi, regarding the latest situation of the work carried out in the flood-affected areas, said, “The danger has still not passed. Our General Directorate of Meteorology continues to issue an orange warning in 5 of our provinces as of tomorrow as well. One of them is Sakarya. We cannot yet say that the danger has fully passed; we must remain on alert.”
Minister of Interior Mustafa Çiftçi conducted inspections in Sakarya, where floods occurred after heavy rains that have been effective for 2 days. After his inspections, Minister Çiftçi made a statement to journalists. Minister Mustafa Çiftçi said the following:
“With the rains and floods that began on October 14, our General Directorate of Meteorology, as you have also followed, initially issued a yellow code in 42 of our provinces and an orange code in 6 of our provinces. The danger has still not passed. Our General Directorate of Meteorology continues to issue an orange warning in 5 of our provinces as of tomorrow as well. One of them is Sakarya. We cannot yet say that the danger has fully passed; we must remain on alert. In this context, as the Ministry of Interior, from the very first moment the flood and heavy rains began, we started working in coordination with all our provinces at our AFAD Coordination Center in Ankara. Yesterday, we were at the AFAD Coordination Center throughout the day. Under the chairmanship of our esteemed governors, with the participation of our relevant institutions, the work in the field was closely coordinated.”
60 THOUSAND PERSONNEL ON DUTY ACROSS TURKEY
Drawing attention to the fact that the necessary work is being carried out in flood-affected Istanbul, Çiftçi continued as follows:
“Today in Istanbul, with the participation of all relevant institutions, including AFAD's search and rescue teams, including personnel of the Metropolitan and district municipalities, including our institutions such as the gendarmerie, police, and coast guard, 46 thousand of our personnel are on duty in Istanbul. Across all of Turkey, 60 thousand of our personnel are currently on duty. We are trying to manage the disaster. Our esteemed President has closely followed all events since the beginning of the process and is giving us the necessary instructions. Under the leadership and guidance of our esteemed President, together with our ministers, governors, AFAD, the Red Crescent, our other law enforcement units, and our state institutions, we continue our work in the field without interruption.”
865 PEOPLE EVACUATED, 170 THOUSAND ANIMALS PERISHED
Minister Çiftçi, recalling that an orange code warning was also issued for Sakarya for tomorrow, spoke as follows:
“As a result of yesterday's orange code, 270 kilograms of rainfall per square meter fell in our Ferizli district. 224 kilograms of rainfall fell in Karasu. These are very high amounts of rainfall. Therefore, it once again reminds us how cautious we must be. At the same time, in order to support the coordination work here, we have sent support teams from neighboring provinces and have coordinated them. At present, in Sakarya, together with 1,621 personnel, 617 vehicles, and 8 boats, we are striving to manage the crisis and ensure coordination. So far, 641 reports have come to our 112 Emergency Call Center. Of these, 573 have turned into cases. Within the framework of these efforts, 865 people have been evacuated. Again in Sakarya, as a result of the rains and floods, 2 structures and 5 bridges have been destroyed. There are electricity, water, and telephone outages, and there are disruptions in some public services. Damage and loss have occurred in cultivated and planted areas, and there are animal deaths. There are also disruptions in transportation. For example, 170 thousand poultry animals have perished, and 209 beehives have also been damaged as a result of the rains. Our state is with our citizens with all its means.”
DAMAGE ASSESSMENT WILL BEGIN WHEN THE RAINS STOP
Explaining that damage assessment work will be carried out after the rains stop, Minister of Interior Çiftçi gave the following information on the matter:
“After these rains stop and things calm down a bit, both our damage assessment work and our damage assessment commissions will begin work in the field. We will continue to compensate our citizens' damages and losses in line with our state's means. Whether it is our Red Crescent, other non-governmental organizations, or other institutions of our state, they are all striving to work with all their might. Right now, our Director General of DSİ is also among us. They are also continuing stream rehabilitation work in Sakarya with 44 vehicles and 100 personnel. To date, as the Ministry of Interior, through AFAD, we have provided DSİ with 120 work machines and 20 trucks. We have allocated 140 vehicles. These are mostly used in rehabilitation work in the Black Sea region. DSİ is also using its own resources. As a result of these preventive efforts, if there has not been a large loss of life and property in disasters, then the work done is of great value, and the measures taken in advance are of great value. Thanks to the measures we took in advance, much greater potential loss of life and property has been prevented. As a result of these efforts, I thank our Governor, our AFAD teams, the valuable employees of our Metropolitan Municipality, district municipality employees, our DSİ and Highways Regional Directorate employees, and all our colleagues who contributed, one by one. All personnel of our Ministry are mobilizing everything they can to help this disaster be overcome with less damage.”
WARNING TO CITIZENS NOT TO LEAVE HOME
Also warning citizens, Minister Çiftçi concluded his remarks as follows:
“In our provinces under an orange warning, our citizens should not leave their homes as much as possible. They should park their vehicles in safe places. In this way, I believe we can reduce loss of life and property to lower levels. These efforts are already being carried out within the scope of Turkey's Disaster Response. I once again thank all our personnel who contributed. May God protect our state and our nation from similar disasters. We are truly receiving very severe rainfall. Perhaps we are witnessing days when the rainfall of a year falls in a single day. I believe that by joining hands as state and nation, we can also overcome these with the least damage.”