ISTANBUL
\nNine people have lost their lives as flash floods hit Kastamonu in Turkey\u2019s Black Sea region that sent water and debris gushing through streets and damaged bridges, authorities said on Thursday.
\nThere was also flooding in the Black Sea provinces of Sinop and Bartin, where one person went missing on Wednesday and another died due to a heart attack, according to state broadcaster TRT Haber.
\nMore than 900 people were evacuated from the areas affected in the three provinces, some with the help of helicopters, and about 550 people were being housed in student dormitories, the Disaster and Emergency Management Directorate (AFAD) said.
\nThe deluge damaged power infrastructure, leaving more than 170 villages without electricity, it said. Four bridges had collapsed and many others were damaged, leading to road closures, AFAD added.
\nTelevision footage showed the floods dragging dozens of cars and heaps of debris along the streets. The heavy rainfall in the region was expected to ease on Thursday evening, AFAD said.
\nTurkey\u2019s north is prone to flash floods in the summer when rains are particularly strong. Last year, at least five people were killed in floods in the region.
\nIn contrast, the southern coast of the country has battled raging wildfires that have burnt tens of thousands of hectares of forest over the last two weeks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ISTANBUL Nine people have lost their lives as flash floods hit Kastamonu in Turkey\u2019s Black Sea region that sent water and debris gushing through streets and damaged bridges, authorities said on Thursday. There was also flooding in the Black Sea provinces of Sinop and Bartin, where one person went missing on Wednesday and another died […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-209434","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\n