Lightning kills 3 in western Turkey, Marmara region sees heavy flooding

Heavy overnight rain caused flooding and wreaked havoc on transportation in the western province of Edirne as the water levels of a stream in Oğulpaşa rose and the highway between Edirne and the neighboring province of Kırklareli was temporarily closed to traffic.

A rainfall warning to remain in effect for several days was issued on Monday for western Turkey by meteorology officials, who urged people to take the necessary precautions.

There was also localized flooding in many villages and towns in Edirne. In the village of Sazlıdere, several houses and barns near a stream were flooded. Villagers evacuated their livestock when warned by civil defense officials and police as the rain set in. A number of vehicles in the provincial capital were trapped in the flood. Firefighters rescued those who were trapped in their cars.

The flooding of the stream in Oğulpaşa put many families in danger. Nearly 30 people who had come from Manisa and İzmir to work as street vendors and who had erected tents between the villages of Sazlıdere and İskender near the Oğulpaşa stream were trapped in the flood and called for help with megaphones they had on hand for calling out their wares.

Edirne Civil Defense units and firefighters were able to rescue the flood victims, including the elderly and a 10-day-old infant, with boats after a three-hour struggle. Following a medical examination at Edirne State Hospital, they were accommodated by the Edirne Rest House, a building often used by victims of natural disasters.

Lightning killed three people in western Turkey on Monday night. Muharrem Adıgtı (65), a retired farmer in the Aliseydi village of Bursa’s Mustakemalpaşa district, as well as Hanife (20) and Gönül Tekin (20) -- two sisters in the Bağyurdu neighborhood of İzmir’s Kemalpaşa district -- were killed. The sisters had gone along with two other women to collect cherries in the neighborhood. When the rain began suddenly, the four women sought shelter under a tree but two were killed by a lightning strike.