Rain, hail and high winds in Turkish city lead to floods, collapsed wall at cemetery and explosion at port

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

A severe summer storm in Istanbul has left at least three people injured, with heavy rain, hail and strong winds knocking down trees and a stone wall and flooding streets in the Turkish city.

The NTV television channel said part of a stone wall surrounding a cemetery for the Christian Armenian community had been demolished in Thursday’s storm, hurting two people. Footage showed rescue crews and residents helping each other to remove the stones, looking for people who may have been trapped beneath the rubble.

votk@ (@egtazzi) Bagajda can yeleği, bot taşımak şartı gelecek. #yağmur #istanbul pic.twitter.com/DF0wOgSs5N

Winds also toppled a large crane that landed on oil barrels at a port, causing an explosion and a fire, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported. At least one person was injured in the fire, which was later brought under control. A small depot also caught fire after being hit by lightning.

Heavy rainfall disrupted the evening rush hour traffic, stranding vehicles in flooded streets. Delays were reported at Istanbul’s main airport and some planes were diverted to other airports.

Ragıp Soylu (@ragipsoylu) Hail storm in İstanbul cracked car windows pic.twitter.com/ASiUJeqEIj

NTV showed people leaving a bus that was stranded in a flooded underpass and walking to safety through waist-high waters. Hailstones the size of golfballs damaged some windows and car windshields.

Turkish authorities temporarily closed down the Eurasia road tunnel, which connects Istanbul’s Asian and European sides under the Bosphorus strait, as a precaution.

It was the second time in 10 days that heavy rain inundated the streets of Istanbul and caused havoc in the metropolis.