Istanbul Records Heaviest Rainfall in More Than 80 Years, Leaving at Least Three Dead

Istanbul recorded its heaviest rainfall since records began in 1942 during a storm that began on 14 October 2026 and continued into 15 October. Governor Davut Gül stated that some districts received more than 200 kilograms of rain per square meter, with Beykoz measuring 277 kilograms in one system. The city's long-term October average is 66 kilograms.

At least three people died. A 14-year-old boy was electrocuted after stepping into a puddle in the Balat area of the Fatih district. A 34-year-old man slipped while crossing a road and struck his head. Authorities later recovered the body of another man near a park in Kagithane. Four people remained missing as of the evening of 15 October. Nearly 600 people were rescued after becoming stranded, according to deputy mayor Nuri Aslan. More than 8,000 municipal workers responded to flooding incidents.

Schools across the city closed on 15 and 16 October. Residents were advised to stay indoors unless travel was essential. Motorcycle and two-wheeled vehicle traffic was banned until further notice. Istanbul Airport diverted 51 flights and cancelled 19 others. Emergency services logged more than 1,200 flooding reports, 15 landslides, and two roofs blown off. Cars were submerged in several districts, and footage showed vehicles carried by fast-moving water.

Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said some areas received rainfall equal to one-seventh of the annual average in a single day. The disaster agency AFAD established a crisis desk. Flooding also affected Antalya on the Mediterranean coast. The rain is expected to continue through the weekend, with further warnings issued for nighttime hours.

The volume of water overwhelmed drainage systems in low-lying and densely built districts. Küçükçekmece, Beykoz, Sarıyer, and Eyüpsultan reported particularly high totals. Factories, residential buildings, and transport corridors along stream beds were inundated. The event has renewed attention to Istanbul's infrastructure capacity and to the frequency of extreme rainfall in the region.

Governor Gül described the precipitation as the highest level recorded since 1942. Local measurements varied: some districts exceeded 130 kilograms per square meter while others recorded between 35 and 120. The contrast with the monthly average underscores the intensity of the single system. Investigations continue into the electrocution death of the teenager.

For a city of more than 15 million people, the immediate effects include closed schools, disrupted air travel, and thousands of emergency responses. Longer-term questions concern drainage upgrades and land-use rules in flood-prone zones. The storm arrives during a period when several Mediterranean and Black Sea cities have reported heavier-than-average autumn rains.

Municipal teams continued pumping operations and clearing debris into 16 October. No further deaths were confirmed overnight, though the missing persons search remained active. The governor's office has not yet released a full district-by-district rainfall table, but the figures already released place the event among the most severe on record for the city.