Underpasses flooded, D-100 closed: Istanbul struggles through yet another downpour

What happened

The rain began overnight and intensified on Tuesday morning; a yellow weather warning was in force for Istanbul. Pendik and Tuzla on the Asian side were hit hardest, along with Bayrampaşa and Ataşehir. The D-100 highway was closed towards Tuzla–Pendik, including the service road, and later reopened.

In Tuzla, two staff shuttle buses and two cars got stuck in the water and 41 employees were brought to safety, Artı Gerçek reported. In Şile, floodwater swept away goods in front of shops, and a tunnel at the Sabiha Gökçen Airport cargo terminal was partly flooded.

In mid-October heavy rain in Istanbul had already claimed two lives. The municipality's disaster coordination centre AKOM now expects a cold wave from the Balkans and up to seven days of recurring rain, with temperatures well below seasonal norms.

The mood on the ground

For commuters the morning became a test of patience: traffic density reached 80 percent according to the municipality, and as much as 89 percent on the Asian side. Long queues formed at the approaches to the 15 July Bridge and the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge, Gazete Oksijen reported. Only around midday did congestion fall to 53 percent.

In Pendik, a father and his daughter, who was on her way to university, got stuck in their car in a flooded underpass; people from the neighbourhood helped them out (Artı Gerçek). In Kaynarca, a driver and a child were rescued from a submerged car.

The authorities urged residents to avoid underpasses and to prepare for further flooding and traffic disruption. The environment ministry reminded residents of the yellow warning level and urged caution against flash floods.

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