Turkey Floods: Heavy rains flood homes and submerge vehicles in Istanbul

Torrential rain has battered Istanbul, flooding hundreds of homes, triggering landslides, causing roads to cave in and bringing traffic in Turkey's largest city to a near standstill. Vehicles were left submerged while people found themselves stranded on flooded streets as floodwaters inundated several districts. Authorities suspended classes across Istanbul for Thursday after recording 1,277 flooding incidents and 15 landslides. A teenage boy died of electrocution in Istanbul's Balat area after stepping into a puddle amid the heavy rain. According to the Istanbul governor's office, the boy was taken to hospital unconscious but died despite rescue efforts. An investigation into the incident has been launched. The Istanbul governor urged residents to remain at home unless travel was essential. People living in basement apartments were advised to spend the night on higher floors and stay away from creek beds, underpasses and other flood-prone areas. Authorities also banned motorcycles from the roads and suspended classes across the city for Thursday. Public employees with disabilities and mothers with young children were granted leave. The downpour began on Tuesday evening following warnings from Turkey's meteorological service. Floodwaters inundated roads and underpasses, leaving vehicles stranded across several districts. Emergency services received more than 2,500 reports of weather-related incidents. Authorities deployed around 8,000 personnel along with 2,000 vehicles and construction machines to deal with the situation in the city of approximately 16 million people. Officials recorded over 1,200 flooding incidents and 15 landslides, while 47 people were reported stranded, more than 800 homes, 280 businesses and 76 vehicles were affected as torrential rain brought Istanbul to a standstill.