At least 44 people have died in floods and mudslides that have hit northern Turkey in recent days, the country's emergency and disaster services said today (Saturday).
The heavy rains that hit the Black Sea region have flooded the districts of Bartin, Castamono and Sinop since Wednesday.
Many houses were destroyed and at least five bridges were damaged, which resulted in many vehicles being swept away by the raging water.
Flash floods in Bozkurt, Turkey, sweep away cars and collapse building in Kastamonu Province, near the Black Sea.
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A flooded playground in the Turkish city of Bozcourt, Reuters
Due to the disaster, at least 2,250 people were evacuated from these districts, some even evacuated from the roofs of their homes by helicopters that came to their rescue.
The official number of missing is unknown, but a Turkish politician claims it stands at at least 330 people.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan took to the field to demonstrate his presence, and came to the city of Bozcourt, one of the largest victims so far in the disaster, to attend some of the first funerals killed in the floods that befell the city.
"We will do everything we can as quickly as possible, we will get revenge from the dirt," he told the many present.
"We will not be able to bring back those who have lost, but our country has the intention and power to compensate those who have lost loved ones."
Erdogan referred to the global climate crisis, saying that Turkey, like many other parts of the world, has recently experienced a series of natural disasters.
"It has happened in America, Canada, Germany and other parts of Europe," he said.
Huge forest fires hit the south of the country just about two weeks ago, killing at least eight people.
Much criticism was leveled at the time against the president for the inability of the fire services and the lack of firefighting planes and helicopters.
Turkey was then forced to turn to the aid of countries such as Russia, Azerbaijan and Ukraine.
Turkish President Erdogan during a visit to the city of Bozcourt, which was hit by floods in the country, Reuters
Elias, 42, a Turkish citizen who spoke to Reuters, said it was an "unprecedented" event: "There is no energy anywhere, all the mobile phones are live, you can't get updates from anywhere. We had no idea if "The water is rising or not, whether our building was flooded or not. We just waited. As soon as the sun rose, the police arrived and they took us to a gas station."
Although the climate crisis may be responsible for the recent floods, geologists estimate that the current case is a product of humankind, as authorities in the country have reduced the banks of the Azein River in Bozcourt County from just 400 meters to 15 meters.
The damage to the site is one of the most severe in the recent flood wave, where many flooded homes were built near the water.
Aerial photo of the Turkish city of Bozcourt, which was badly affected by the floods in the north of the country, AP