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The Istanbul Governor’s Office suspended in-person education at all public and private institutions across the province for one day on Thursday, Oct. 15, after heavy rain flooded roads, underpasses and buildings in Türkiye’s largest city and brought traffic to a crawl.
The governor’s office announced the measure Wednesday evening along with a ban on motorcycles and similar two-wheeled vehicles from traffic, effective 9 p.m. Wednesday until further notice. Authorities said the decision was meant to limit the effect of the rain on residents’ daily lives.
“Adverse weather conditions in Istanbul are affecting many areas of life, primarily transportation,” the governor’s office said in its statement.
Public employees who are disabled, pregnant, veterans or disabled veterans will be considered on administrative leave Thursday, as will women with children under 8. The leave for mothers does not cover women working in health care, the police or units fighting the effects of the rain. Mothers of disabled children under 8 are included regardless of their profession.
The Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality’s Disaster Coordination Center, known as AKOM, said between 50 and 95 kilograms of rain per square meter fell in Beykoz, Sariyer, Eyupsultan, Arnavutkoy, Basaksehir, Sultangazi and Buyukcekmece. Other districts recorded 10 to 40 kilograms. One kilogram per square meter equals one millimeter of rainfall.
AKOM said the city came under the influence of cold air arriving over the Balkans and a rain-bearing system originating in the central Mediterranean. It said the rain began Tuesday morning, though other reports described the downpour as starting or intensifying Tuesday evening.
The totals exceeded forecasts. The Turkish State Meteorological Service had warned Tuesday afternoon of heavy, thunderous showers from Wednesday morning, projecting 21 to 50 kilograms per square meter citywide and locally 51 to 75 kilograms in the west of the European side. AKOM had expected winds of 50 to 80 kph. The service’s warning is valid from 6 a.m. Wednesday to 11:59 p.m. Thursday.
Wednesday’s rain flooded underpasses and roads in several districts. In Esenyurt, a woman was swept off her feet by floodwater on a flooded street and was pulled to safety by passersby, a scene captured on video. Fire crews worked to free three vehicles stranded in an underpass, according to one report.
Water also entered buildings. Corridors of Mimar Sinan State Hospital in Buyukcekmece were flooded, and water was seen leaking from the closed doors of an elevator. Water dripped from the ceiling of the Haciosman metro station in Sariyer. A retaining wall beside a school collapsed in Sultangazi, according to Greek media reports, with no injuries reported.
Istanbul’s municipality said citywide traffic congestion reached 72 percent at one point, 83 percent on the Asian side and 67 percent on the European side. Later reports put congestion close to 90 percent. The municipality deployed 8,392 personnel and 2,246 vehicles and work machines and responded to 1,901 reports, AKOM said. Early accounts did not cite any deaths.
Schools had stayed open Wednesday. The governor’s office had made no closure announcement as of Tuesday afternoon or Wednesday morning.
The closure is not the first this year. In January, the governor’s office suspended in-person education for a day ahead of a storm, citing adverse weather. Heavy rain on Sept. 23 also prompted flooding and waterlogging warnings from AKOM.
Istanbul has seen far deadlier flooding. In September 2023, about 125 kilograms of rain per square meter fell on the city in under six hours, roughly a typical September’s total, the governor’s office said at the time. At least seven people died in flooding across northwest Türkiye.
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