Storms and rainy weather paralyzed life for nearly two days in Turkey’s northwestern provinces, including Edirne. The Tunca River, which runs through Edirne, overflowed its banks over the last weekend following heavy rain in the Marmara region, leading to widespread flooding. Officials from Bulgaria warned the Edirne Governor’s Office that they would release water from a dam on their side of the border following the heavy rainfall.The Meriç River’s water flow exceeded 250,000 cubic meters per minute on Monday night, regarded as the breaking point for the river. Many roads and workplaces were closed to traffic near the Meriç and Tunca rivers. The Edirne-Karaağaç road was closed to traffic as a result of the rising water levels in the streets. According to reports, rescue teams pulled a number of residents of Edirne’s Karaağaç neighborhood from the floodwaters. The Bulgarian-Turkish border was closed since flooding hit the area after intense rainfall in the region on Monday.
Agah Korkan, the Karaağaç neighborhood muhtar, said it was not possible to walk or drive on the streets. “We are in the middle of a natural disaster. The government should put together an agreement between officials to establish a reservoir to store water as this is urgently needed by the city. I warned locals by going from door to door. My only hope is that no houses have been inundated with water,” Korkan said.
