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Turkish floods inundate two cities hit by quakes killing 14

Watch: Truck washed away as floods hit Turkey earthquake zone

Fourteen people have died and several others are missing after floods swept through the streets of two cities in south-east Turkey devastated by last month's earthquakes.

Among the victims were quake survivors who had been living in container homes since the quakes.

Cars tumbled on a torrent of floodwater through the streets of Sanliurfa, where 12 people died.

A container housing two families in Adiyaman was caught up in the floods.

A woman living in the container was among two people killed in the city. Several others were reported missing. Tents in the city were evacuated.

The latest disaster came only five weeks after the twin earthquakes on 6 February in which 48,000 people were killed and many more left homeless.

Esber Ayaydin/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images Police divers, also known as frogmen, of Turkish Police Department conduct search and rescue operations at the flooded crossroads after downpour hit Sanliurfa, Turkiye on March 15, 2023 Esber Ayaydin/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Police divers searched for survivors in Sanliurfa

Search and rescue organisation Afad said that in one 24-hour period, 136mm (5.4in) of rain had fallen in one area of Adiyaman province and 111mm (4.4in) in Sanliurfa, which saw a third of its annual rainfall in the past two days.

The governor of Sanliurfa, Salih Ayhan, said his province had never seen flooding like it and officials appealed to residents to evacuate the ground floor and basements of homes.

The bodies of five people were found in a basement apartment and Turkish media said they were Syrians.

Omer Yasin Ergin/Anadolu Agency/Getty An aerial view of the flooded area as rescue works continue for those stranded due to floods in Sanliurfa, Turkiye on March 15Omer Yasin Ergin/Anadolu Agency/Getty
Some of the victims were trapped in the underpass at the Abide Koprulu junction in Sanliurfa

Bodies were also recovered from an underpass at the major Abide road junction.

Several people were dragged off in their vehicles by the current of the floodwaters and people who tried to help those stranded were themselves swept away.

Dramatic footage emerged of a man being pulled out of the torrent in Sanliurfa by a local dangling a rope from a ground-floor window. A similar rescue took place at the Abide junction.

Esber Ayaydin/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images A man trapped in the Abide Koprulu junction, which was flooded due to the downpour that had been effective since yesterday evening, is being rescued in SanliurfaEsber Ayaydin/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
This man was pulled to safety from the underpass at the Abide junction

Two of the missing were firefighters, said the governor, who appealed to residents to keep well away from the moving water. A hospital was flooded and 200 patients moved elsewhere.

The rain is due to die down towards the end of the week.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is grappling with the aftermath of last month's earthquake, is facing elections on 14 May. He has sent the interior minister, Suleyman Soylu, to the flood region.

Leading opposition figures are also due to visit Sanliurfa, and have vowed to help meet the urgent needs of residents.