17.10.2026 15:21
Cleaning efforts launched to erase the traces of the flood that occurred after heavy rain in Sarıyer, Istanbul, continue today. Teams from the Istanbul Provincial Gendarmerie Command assigned to the field and AFAD volunteers are supporting the cleaning efforts.
Cleanup work continues in Sarıyer Ayazağa, where flooding occurred after the heavy downpour that affected Istanbul. The work being carried out at flood-affected points aims to eliminate the problems caused by the rain.
COMMANDOS AND AFAD VOLUNTEERS SUPPORT CLEANUP WORK While work continues to clean the mud and silt accumulated in the area, teams from the Alemdağ Gendarmerie Commando Battalion Command affiliated with the Istanbul Provincial Gendarmerie Command, who are on duty in the field, and AFAD volunteers are also supporting the cleanup work being carried out to erase the traces of the flood. Commandos affiliated with the Gendarmerie Command and volunteers have been cleaning the mud and waste accumulated in flood-damaged homes and workplaces since the early hours of the day.
“THE WATER HAD RISEN TO WINDOW LEVEL” Local residents, expressing their satisfaction with the work of gendarmerie personnel and AFAD volunteers, described what they experienced on the day of the disaster. Murtaza Yılmaz, a resident of the area, said: “That day was a huge disaster. We couldn’t decide what to do all of a sudden. We were very indecisive. When the water rose suddenly, while trying to save our property, we also struggled hard to save our own lives. We had elderly people, my mother, my aunt. We tried to save them, first we got them outside. We had neighbors living in basement floors. We went to help them, to evacuate their homes. The water had risen to window level. We tried to get them out. We experienced quite a lot of difficulty. The water began to pass the car’s tires. We became anxious. Items began to be carried outside. That moment is indescribable; we experienced a great disaster. Thank God our soldiers are also supporting us; they came. It was a very bad day. Right now we are better and more at ease,” he said.
“EXCAVATORS RESCUED MY HUSBAND” Nurşen Danışmaz, another neighborhood resident, stated that they were very scared on the day of the disaster and said: “It started raining heavily. My husband was at work. He had left work at 5 in the evening and came home at 11. Excavators rescued him in the square. We were very scared at home with my child. The manhole in front of the market burst, and water shot up into the air. We were looking out the window and started to get scared. Some people left their homes, but we couldn’t. We had nowhere to go. Where would we go? We couldn’t leave. We just waited and waited. As the water increased, we got scared. We went outside a little, but returned home again. There was a lot of damage and loss. We had no electricity, nothing left. We stayed in the dark; we bought a gas cylinder from the square. We sat in the dark. We also had a candle, so we lit it,” she said.