Powerful windstorm hits Istanbul, claiming at least 4 lives and injuring dozens others, Turkey
Image credit: TRT (stillshot)
A severe windstorm hit Turkey's biggest city Istanbul (population 15.5 million) on Monday, November 29, 2021, leaving at least 4 people dead and 38 others injured.
Turkey's weather agency issued an orange-level storm warning (3 of 4) for 17 provinces, and a yellow alert (2 of 4) for 35 provinces ahead of the storm.1
The storm brought powerful winds, blowing away at least 33 roofs, knocked down 52 traffic signs, uprooted 192 trees, and damaged 12 cars, the Istanbul municipality officials said.2
"Due to the adverse weather conditions caused by southwesterly winds that have been effective in Istanbul since the morning, four people have lost their lives, one of whom was a foreign national and three were our citizens," the Istanbul Governor's office said in a statement.
As of 17:30 LT (14:30 UTC), 38 people were injured.
Turkey's flag-carrier Turkish Airlines (THY) reported disruptions to its flight schedule, while the Bosporus has been closed to traffic from both directions.
A clock tower blew over because of the heavy wind in the Çatalca district. Also, two trucks and one pickup truck overturned in Çatalca.
Seas overflowed and roofs blew away in some provinces of Izmir, Kocaeli and Bursa.
More torrential rain and thunderstorms are possible in the Marmara, Aegean, Western Mediterranean and western Black Sea regions and the northwest of central Anatolia, the Turkish State Meteorological Service said.
Update:
According to Turkey's Meteorology General Directorate, winds reached 130 km/h (80 mph) in one of the country's most aggressive windstorms in living memory. Turkey frequently has southwesterly winds known as Lodos winds, but their speed on this occasion, along with the damage they have caused is unusual for the country.3
In total, the storm left 6 people dead and 52 injured. 4 of the fatalities were in Instanbul. 3 of the injured are in critical condition.
References:
1 4 killed, 38 injured in heavy storms that battered Turkey – The Daily Sabah
2 At least 1 person killed as storm pounds Istanbul – AP
3 Extreme winds in Turkey kill 6 and injure 52 – CNN
Teo Blašković founded The Watchers in 2011 and edited it until 2026, covering seismic and volcanic activity, extreme weather, space weather and near-Earth objects. Articles on this page are his archive.
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My prayers are with you all
Poor construction, cheap materials and crappy workmanship will give you this, at winds of only 80 mph. Which would only be a Cat 1 (the lowest) Hurricane here in the US. 80 mph winds is ‘nothing’.