Heavy rain across Istanbul triggered flash flooding that left three people dead and four others missing, the city's governor's office announced on Thursday, according to Hürriyet. Schools in Istanbul will remain closed for a second day, Governor Davut Gül said, and classes were also suspended in Sakarya and Kocaeli provinces.
The flooding struck Sarıyer's Ayazağa district particularly hard, where the scale of the damage became clear as daylight broke, Hürriyet reported. Storm drains and streams overflowed, roads turned into standing water, and footage captured the moment floodwater poured down from a hillside onto the roof of a house in Sarıyer.
Why it matters
The deaths and disruption in Turkey's largest city highlight how quickly intense rainfall can overwhelm urban infrastructure. Istanbul's governor's office confirmed the rising toll after a man's body was found beside Sadabat Park in Kağıthane, with identification procedures still under way, according to Hürriyet. The closures affect one of Europe's largest student populations and signal that authorities expect conditions to remain dangerous.
Casualties and the search for the missing
The governor's office said the number of people killed by the flooding had risen to three, while four people remain unaccounted for as of Thursday afternoon. Search efforts are continuing in areas where streams burst their banks and swept people away, Hürriyet reported.
In Ayazağa, a vehicle was spotted submerged and overturned beneath a bridge over the Kağıthane stream. Teams were dispatched to the location and planned to check inside the vehicle, according to Hürriyet.
Damage across the city and beyond
The effects of the storm were felt across multiple districts. In Eyüpsultan's Mithatpaşa neighbourhood, flooding damaged a bridge, sending electricity and natural gas cables into the stream bed. Residents said they narrowly avoided a much worse outcome and called on officials for an urgent solution, Hürriyet reported.
In Beykoz's Gümüşsuyu neighbourhood, a retaining wall in front of a three-storey building collapsed sideways after heavy rain on Wednesday evening. Fire and municipal teams inspected the site, and the building was set to be evacuated, according to Hürriyet. Resident Efe Öztürk told the newspaper he heard a sudden loud noise while sitting inside, went out, and found the wall had given way. He said a second wall behind him collapsed two minutes later, and that a pit had formed beneath the building as the ground shifted. Neighbour Bahtiyar Genç said his own building was undamaged but that a garden wall had been affected.
In Sultangazi's Yunus Emre neighbourhood, a landslide along Lütfi Aykaç Boulevard damaged a line feeding water to the historic Bulakbaşı Arch, part of the Kırkçeşme water system that runs from Göktürk to Fatih. Crews took security measures and cordoned off the area around the Ottoman-era aqueduct, Hürriyet reported.
The Golden Horn, a landmark body of water in the city, turned brown with mud after the downpour and was filmed by drone, according to Hürriyet.
Outside Istanbul, Bursa also felt the strain. Streams flowing from Uludağ through the city centre neared overflowing, and a landslide occurred in Cumalıkızık stream in the Yıldırım district, with the moment captured on a mobile phone camera, Hürriyet reported.
School closures widen
Sakarya's governor's office said education would be suspended for another day across the province, citing meteorological data showing an "orange code" warning for severe rain. The statement said heavy precipitation was expected across the province and was assessed as likely to disrupt ordinary life and cause transport problems, Hürriyet reported.
Under the measures, all official and private schools and institutions in the province will close, along with Sakarya University and Sakarya University of Applied Sciences, as ordered by their rectors. The statement added that on the closure day, female staff with children in kindergarten or primary school would be considered on administrative leave, along with public employees who are disabled, have serious chronic illnesses, or are pregnant. It noted that the situation of staff in health, security and round-the-clock units would be assessed by their department heads in line with service needs.
Kocaeli also suspended classes for the following day, Hürriyet reported.
Legal response
Separately, Justice Minister Gürlek said judicial investigations had been opened into the flood disaster, according to Evrensel. The announcement indicates authorities are examining the events surrounding the flooding as the recovery and search work continues.
What to watch
Attention now turns to whether the four missing people are found and whether further rainfall forces additional closures or evacuations in Istanbul and neighbouring provinces.
