2021 Turkey Floods

In August 2021, the Black Sea region in Turkey was affected by catastrophic flooding, as a series of thunderstorms that began on 7 August 2021 and continued until the 14th in northern Turkey caused several floods and landslides. The water rose to in some locations, and the floods have been described as the worst in Turkey's history. 97 people died and about 228 more were injured in the floods, and more than 1800 people were evacuated as many people were rescued from rooftops. Reports have shown that at least 454 buildings had sustained significant damage. Bridges were also damaged or destroyed, and the infrastructure of multiple towns were significantly affected. Experts have stated that urbanization and climate change in Turkey have made the floods' worse, although to what extent each factor was responsible has been disputed.

As a response to the floods, the government started a disaster relief campaign, which has faced criticism for using donations instead of taxpayer money. Affected provinces were made disaster areas, and financial help was given to those affected. There have been numerous claims of a hydroelectric power plant malfunction during the flood, which the government has denied. Others have claimed that the public was misled by officials before the event, and that the missing count was an undercount; however, neither of these claims have been confirmed.

Causes

Background

Unlike the western and southern coasts of Turkey, where summers are generally hot and dry, torrential summer rains on the northern coasts are common, especially east of the Bosporus, as there is no summer dry season, and as precipitation generally amounts to at least a year. Recent data also suggests that days with heavy rainfall are increasing in northern Turkey, and Borzou Daraghi of The Independent has called the floods "one of multiple climate change-induced calamities" Turkey has faced this summer. However, meteorologist Mikdat Kadıoğlu claimed that climate change "was being used as a scapegoat" in flood events such as this one, and argued that while climate change was partially responsible, other factors were also at play, principally urbanization. Geologists have also pointed to the flood plain of the streams around the flooded area, which have narrowed due to construction, while others claimed that poorly made bridges worsened the destruction.

Meteorological history

On 6 August 2021, a long-lasting complex of thunderstorms formed in eastern Marmara, with an associated cyclone in Eastern Europe, causing isolated heavy downpours in Istanbul, Gebze and Izmit overnight. The next day, the system moved eastward toward the western Black Sea region, where it would stall for around a week with CAPE values occasionally exceeding 6000 J/kg, creating very favorable conditions for severe downpours.

While heavy rainfall remained occasional from the 7th to the 9th, the heaviest rainfall occurred from the 10th to the 12th of August, and multiple flash flood warnings were issued by the General Directorate of Meteorology. Some stations recorded rainfall exceeding over these 48 hours, and numerical models suggested the possibility of a local maximum as high as , with hourly rainfall rates well above per hour. This likely caused severe flooding in Kastamonu to start about a day into the second rainy period, as a nearby river burst its banks. Other regions also accumulated considerable rainfall, as Ayancık