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Six people remain missing following severe flooding in northwestern Türkiye, while rescue teams have brought more than 3,000 stranded residents to safety in Istanbul, Interior Minister Mustafa Ciftci announced.
Five people are being searched for in Istanbul and one in neighboring Kocaeli province, Ciftci said, adding that search and rescue operations are continuing without interruption.
Authorities have received 12,372 emergency reports across provinces affected by severe rainfall, including 9,755 in Istanbul alone. Emergency teams have responded to 7,456 verified incidents.
According to Ciftci, rescue teams have brought 3,055 stranded people to safety across Istanbul, while evacuations in the heavily affected Ayazaga neighborhood have been completed. Residents requiring temporary accommodation have been placed in government guesthouses.
The minister said 46,597 personnel had been deployed across Istanbul, with a nationwide response involving more than 58,000 personnel. Türkiye's Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) has also sent 1,000 volunteers into the field.
Emergency operations are being coordinated by provincial governors and AFAD, particularly in Istanbul, Kocaeli and Sakarya.
In Sakarya's Sapanca district, a building near a stream in the Feyziye neighborhood collapsed after being evacuated as a precaution. No casualties were reported.
Ciftci urged residents to stay away from streambeds, avoid walking or driving through flooded areas and keep clear of damaged electrical lines that may have come into contact with water.
He also warned against entering flood-damaged buildings or returning to evacuated homes before authorities declare them safe.
Residents were advised to use battery-powered flashlights, choose bottled drinking water when water safety is uncertain and pay particular attention to children, older people and people with disabilities.
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Ciftci said emergency teams would remain on alert around the clock as authorities continued coordinating operations in provinces under yellow and orange weather warnings, which indicate potentially dangerous and severe weather conditions.
He added that field operations would continue in Istanbul the following day.
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