300 Villagers Evacuated as Floods Hit Southern Turkey

Published December 8th, 2001 - 02:00 GMT
Al Bawaba
Al Bawaba

Floods forced the evacuation of 291 people from three villages in Turkey's Meditarranean province of Icel early on Saturday as heavy rain continued to pose danger, a local official told AFP. 

The villagers were accommodated in a sports hall in Tarsus town, where the Red Crescent was trying to meet their needs, Tarsus governor Necmi Kurt said. 

"The heavy rain is continuing though it is slowing down from time to time. There could be further evacuations," he added. 

Melting snow from mountains in the province added to the heavy rainfall, which started on Friday. 

The head of the Tarsus chamber of agriculture told Anatolia news agency the floods had caused substantial damage to fields in the region. 

"We assume material damage will exceed 35 trillion Turkish lira (25 million dollars, 28 million euros)," Ali Ergezer said. 

Three people, including an eight-year-old boy, died in floods in the same province earlier this month – Ankara (AFP)

© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)

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