:People stand at a high pont looking down at the flood waters in Sanliurfa, southeastern Turkey on March 15, 2023. (Photo by AFP)
Flooding from torrential rains killed at least 15 people in Turkey’s southeast, where many people are still recovering from last month’s catastrophic earthquakes, state-run TRT television said Thursday.
Flash floods filled an underpass inaugurated by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan just over three months ago in the city center of Sanliurfa, a base of support for his ruling Justice and Development Party. At least 13 people drowned in the city and two more died in neighboring Adiyaman, TRT reported.
The state response to natural disasters has become an electoral issue since the Feb. 6 earthquakes that killed over 50,000 people, sparking criticism that the government was ill prepared.
Erdogan has promised to rebuild quake survivors’ homes within a year as he tries to defeat the largest-ever grouping of opposition parties and extend his rule into a third decade at a vote scheduled for May 14.
