Western Turkey Floods Leave One Dead, Four Rescued, Homes Submerged, Emergency Teams Pump Basements

Izmir, Turkey— Flash flooding inundated residential districts in western Turkey on October 31, 2026, killing one person and forcing emergency crews to rescue four others from homes and cars.

The floods hit Izmir and Manisa provinces after a sudden storm dumped more than 100 millimeters of rain in three hours. The Turkish State Meteorological Service had issued a yellow alert at dawn. No one expected this much water this fast. Streets became rivers.

Officials said a 68-year-old man died in Izmir’s Buca district. He was trapped in his basement flat when water poured in through windows. Neighbors tried to break the door. Water pressure was too strong. His body was found an hour later. Four others were rescued, including two children pulled from a car that stalled in an underpass.

In Karabaglar and Bornova, water entered ground floors up to a meter high. Furniture floated. Fridges toppled. Cars were pushed sideways. One video showed a white sedan sliding down a street with its hazard lights on. No one was inside.

The municipality said 250 homes and 40 workplaces were flooded. Drainage pumps failed in two neighborhoods because power was cut. Firefighters used portable pumps. They worked door to door. In one street, they found an elderly couple standing on a kitchen table, waiting.

Highway D300 was closed near Manisa after a small bridge overflowed. Traffic was diverted. Izmir’s metro ran with delays because water leaked into a station entrance. Schools in Buca were shut for the afternoon. Shopkeepers swept mud out with shovels.

Governor’s office said more than 100 personnel were deployed. AFAD, Turkey’s disaster agency, said it had set up a crisis desk. It warned of more heavy rain tonight and told residents not to use basements in low-lying areas.

Locals blamed construction. New apartment blocks paved over streambeds. Old drainage pipes were too narrow. A muhtar said he had asked for bigger pipes for three years. Nothing happened. Now his street was a lake.

By evening, water had receded in central Izmir but remained high in low districts. Power was being restored. The rescued four were in hospital for observation. The dead man’s family waited outside the morgue.