The death toll from last week's floods in the Black Sea province of Giresun has risen to 10, Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu said Sunday.
Rescue teams are still searching for five missing people, Soylu told reporters during a visit to the disaster area.
Some 988 personnel and 288 vehicles have been involved in the rescue efforts, Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) said in a statement earlier.
According to reports, 157 people have been rescued so far, with at least 12 of them found injured. At least 17 buildings have been destroyed and 361 more structures slightly damaged from the flooding, Environment and Urbanization Minister Murat Kurum told reporters. Agriculture and Forestry Minister Bekir Pakdemirli said earlier that damage assessments were ongoing, adding that farmlands seemed to have suffered less damage than initially estimated. Around TL 9 million ($1.23 million) has been authorized for recovery and rehabilitation of the region.
Media reports identified the latest victim as Aykut Variyenli, a specialist sergeant who took part in the evacuation efforts. His body was found in a stream some 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) away from where a gendarmerie van plunged into roaring waters when a culvert it was on collapsed.
Meanwhile, recovery further efforts are underway. Debris and mud were largely cleared from the main street in Dereli, the epicenter of the disaster while soldiers and volunteers cleared debris from shops in the town.
The local municipality and the state-run housing authority have started reparation work for some 200 businesses in the disaster area.
Nurullah Barıtçı, a local whose restaurant was left in ruins by the flood, thanked the state for the support as he installed new window frames Sunday. "Soldiers and volunteers cleaned up my shop and I am now trying to reopen it. We only need to paint it again and install new flooring," he said.
Mustafa Aydın, another shopkeeper, said he thought the debris would take months to remove but it took only a few days thanks to collective efforts. "They even started helping businesses. I didn't expect much for myself and only wanted our town to be helped but the state did more. They are now helping us to reopen. My shop was full of mud and had nothing left inside. We are doing everything from scratch and hope to reopen in the coming days," he told İhlas News Agency (İHA) on Sunday.
