Ankara [Turkey], August 14 (ANI): The death toll from flooding caused by downpours in Turkey’s Kastamonu and Sinop provinces rose to 43, local media reported on Saturday.
Floods caused by heavy rains hit the Black Sea region in the north of the country on Wednesday, leaving 36 people dead in the province of Kastamonu, Anadolu Agency reported citing a Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) statement.
Seven others died in the Sinop province, while search efforts for one missing person were concluded in Bartin province.
On Friday, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited the Bozkurt district in Kastamonu, the worst-hit flood area.
“We will do our best as a state as quickly as possible, and hopefully we will rise from our ashes again,” he said.
Later in the day, Erdogan announced that the places affected had been declared a disaster area, Anadolu Agency reported.
It further reported that these places will be able to defer tax dues and local tradespeople will be allowed to postpone payments to the country’s Social Security Institution. Assistance will also be provided to cover property, vehicle, and workplace losses.
Businesses’ loan repayments will also be postponed, with the state preparing an emergency support plan for disaster-hit areas, Anadolu Agency reported. (ANI)
