Two killed as record rainfall floods Istanbul, flights diverted and power cuts halt water supplies

Torrential rainfall flooded large parts of Istanbul, killing two people and forcing wide disruptions across the city, the National reported. Authorities said a 14-year-old boy electrocuted after stepping into a puddle in the Fatih district was among the dead, and a 34-year-old person died after a fall. An investigation was opened into the electrocution, the Istanbul governorship said. Officials deployed 8,000 emergency workers to respond to more than 1,200 flooding reports, Istanbul Governor Davut Gul told a press conference, according to the National. Governor Gul urged the city's 16 million residents to stay indoors and said the rainfall would continue for another two to three days, repeating an instruction to “not go outside unless absolutely necessary.”

The National reported that some parts of the city recorded exceptionally heavy totals, with rainfall in the Beykoz area reaching 242kg per square metre and many areas receiving more than 100kg per square metre since early on Wednesday. News headlines from other outlets described the event as the heaviest rainfall in roughly eight decades, with variations in the exact year cited. The downpour also forced major transport disruptions. At Istanbul Airport, officials said 51 flights were diverted to alternative airports and 19 flights were cancelled because of the weather. Power outages during the storm interrupted water supplies to homes and businesses in parts of the city, compounding the immediate emergency response challenge. Local authorities logged more than 1,200 calls about flooding and concentrated emergency teams where reports and water levels were highest, the National said. The governor’s order to remain at home was framed as necessary while heavy rain continued, and municipal teams worked to restore utilities and clear flooded streets. An inquiry into the electrocution death was under way, and municipal crews were focused on reinstating power and water services. Headlines from other outlets echoed the scale of the rainfall, citing long-run records for the city, but the National provided the detailed operational figures — fatalities, emergency deployments, flight disruptions and the governor’s public warnings — that defined the immediate response to the floods.