What happened
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan received a telephone briefing on the Istanbul flood response from Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change Minister Murat Kurum, according to the ministry.
Kurum made the call after visiting Ayazağa, in Istanbul’s Sarıyer district. The ministry described the area as one of the locations most affected by the flooding. His update covered conditions on the ground and the measures under way for residents.
The ministry said AFAD is coordinating efforts to locate people reported missing. It is also overseeing the provision of food and water to people affected by the flood.
Residents living in buildings that authorities determine must be evacuated are to be taken to accommodation areas, Kurum said in the ministry statement. He also said there was not an urgent problem at the time of his update to the president.
Why it matters
The briefing indicates that the response has moved beyond site inspection to immediate humanitarian support, searches and decisions on whether buildings can remain occupied. For residents in the affected area, those decisions will determine whether temporary accommodation is required.
The ministry’s account identifies Ayazağa as a significant focus of the incident but does not provide a figure for missing people, displaced residents or damaged buildings. It also does not describe impacts on transport, businesses, utilities or other infrastructure.
For sustainability and resilience teams with operations, assets or suppliers in the district, the immediate priority is to monitor official instructions and assess whether staff, premises or access routes are affected. The available statement does not establish the scale or duration of disruption.
What's next
Authorities are expected to continue searching for missing people, distributing essential supplies and reviewing buildings that may need to be vacated. Where evacuation is required, residents will be transferred to designated accommodation areas, the ministry said.
No timetable for these actions was included in the statement. The ministry has not set out the number of people receiving support or the criteria being used for building evacuation.
The Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change Ministry’s statement is the source for the response details.
