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Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi called on residents of provinces under orange weather warnings to stay indoors and park their vehicles in safe places, warning that the danger from days of heavy rain and flooding has not yet passed.

Çiftçi made the appeal in Sakarya after attending a coordination meeting at the provincial disaster center, where officials reported hundreds of incidents, widespread evacuations and severe damage to buildings, bridges, livestock and farmland.

Rainfall that began on October 14 keeps provinces on alert

Çiftçi arrived at the Sakarya Governor's office and joined a meeting at the Provincial Disaster and Emergency Management Center on the heavy rain that has battered the province since Wednesday. In a statement afterwards, the minister recalled that the rains and floods that started on October 14 initially led to a yellow code for 42 provinces and an orange code for six cities.

"The Meteorological General Directorate is continuing the orange warning for five of our provinces as of tomorrow, and Sakarya is one of them," Çiftçi said. "We cannot yet say the danger has fully passed. We need to remain on alert." An orange warning has been in place in Sakarya since yesterday and will continue tomorrow.

Rainfall totals and damage across Sakarya

Çiftçi reported 275 kilograms of rain per square meter in Ferizli and 224 kilograms in Karasu. Two buildings and five bridges have collapsed in Sakarya as a result of the rain and flooding, and outages of electricity, water and telephone services have been reported along with disruptions to some public services and to transport.

Damage was also recorded on cultivated land and in livestock. About 170,000 poultry died and 209 beehives were damaged. The minister said the figures show how much caution is required, adding that similar measures, including school closures, have been introduced in other provinces as well. Schools in Sakarya were closed for two days.

Response teams deployed across the province

The Interior Ministry began coordinating with all provinces from the AFAD Coordination Center in Ankara from the first moments of the downpour, according to Çiftçi. Some 46,000 personnel are on duty in Istanbul and 60,000 across Turkey. Reinforcement teams were sent to Sakarya from neighboring provinces.

In Sakarya, 1,621 personnel, 617 vehicles and eight boats are managing the crisis and maintaining coordination. The 112 Emergency Call Center has received 641 reports, of which 573 turned into incidents, and 865 people have been evacuated. Citizens were informed by SMS, and warning messages were also sent to public institutions.

Preventive measures and damage assessment

The General Directorate of State Hydraulic Works (DSİ) is continuing stream improvement work with 44 vehicles and 100 personnel. Through AFAD, the Interior Ministry provided DSİ with 120 construction machines and 20 trucks, allocating 140 vehicles in total, mostly for improvement work in the Black Sea region, Çiftçi said.

The minister said earlier precautions had prevented far greater losses of life and property. Once the rain eases, teams will begin damage assessment, and the state will work to cover residents' losses within its means, Çiftçi added, thanking the individuals and institutions involved in the response.

Appeal to residents as warnings continue

Çiftçi asked residents to stay home wherever orange warnings are in force and to park their vehicles in safe locations, saying this would reduce loss of life and property. The work is being carried out under the Turkey Disaster Response Plan, the minister said.

"We are receiving very serious rainfall. We may be witnessing days when the rain of a year falls in a single day," Çiftçi said, adding that the state and the public would work together to get through the disaster with as little damage as possible.

Governor Rahmi Doğan, AK Party Deputy Chairman Ali İhsan Yavuz, AK Party Sakarya lawmakers Çiğdem Erdoğan, Ertuğrul Kocacık, Ali İnci and Murat Kaya, Deputy Interior Minister Mehmet Cangir, Director General of Police Ali Fidan, Gendarmerie General Commander General Ali Çardakcı, Coast Guard Commander Vice Admiral Ahmet Kendir and Metropolitan Mayor Yusuf Alemdar also attended the program.

Key takeaways

• Orange weather warnings will continue in five provinces, including Sakarya, with the danger not yet over
• Ferizli recorded 275 kg of rain per square meter and Karasu 224 kg; two buildings and five bridges collapsed in Sakarya
• 1,621 personnel, 617 vehicles and eight boats are deployed in Sakarya, where 865 people have been evacuated
• Minister Çiftçi urged residents in orange warning provinces to stay home and park vehicles in safe places