Scenes of stalled cars and pedestrians wading through flooded streets prompted anger among residents and city planners, who say that such floods happen regularly and that Adana’s drainage systems should be improved. Speaking to the Cihan news agency on Friday, Adana Chamber of Construction Engineers chief Abdullah Bakır cited the city’s lack of proper drainage networks, stating: “The flood’s turned underpasses into lakes, and deadlocked traffic. … What sort of metropolitan city is Adana, if a rain which isn’t particularly serious suffices to throw the city’s traffic into disorder?”
Bakır told Cihan that seasonal rains often leave Adana’s streets awash, and that a serious project had to be undertaken by the municipality to solve the problem. “Canals should have been created a long time ago to discharge rainwater. … And if that’s not possible, a project should be implemented to assess a permanent solution to this problem,” he stated.
Although no injuries have been reported in association with the rain, the Anatolia news agency said on Friday that the severe weather had caused extensive damage to local businesses, homes and a retirement home in the city’s Yurt and Yeşilyurt districts.
Stormy weather is expected to continue across the southern coast, with rain and heavy thunderstorms in the Adana, Mersin and Hatay provinces.
