Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoğlu came under fire once more as he continued vacationing while several districts of Turkey’s largest metropolis reeled from the aftermath of a flash flood, brought on by the torrential over the weekend.
As one of the city’s worst-hit districts, Esenyurt, struggled to get back on its feet, Imamoğlu is reportedly spending his nine-day holiday during the Qurban Bayram, with family in southwestern Turkey’s Fethiye.
He drew the ire of the citizens, officials and politicians alike over the weekend after sending a tweet claiming he was monitoring the situation and overseeing the rescue effort while away.
While Imamoğlu, from the opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), was missing in action, the flood-hit areas were visited by Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu and Istanbul Gov. Ali Yerlikaya in the early hours of Sunday.
Citizens took to social media to voice their grievances as the hashtag Imamoğlu was trending on Twitter in Turkey on Tuesday.
Many people questioned the mayor’s sense of responsibility, while others criticized his inaction and lack of empathy as they pointed out he had failed to show up or even send out a message of sympathy to the people of Istanbul even though almost 72 hours had passed after the flood.
"He hasn't even been on Twitter for 27 hours. Forget about visiting the flooded area, there is not even a 'get well soon' message,” wrote another user named Elif Burcu Ateş.
Some citizens even poked fun at Imamoğlu’s history of being missing in action or vacationing at times of natural disasters.
He was also vacationing in the summer of 2019, as a newly elected mayor, when the city was gripped by flash floods that wreaked havoc in lower parts and seafront areas of the city, including major transport hubs such as Eminönü, Beşiktaş, Üsküdar, Karaköy, Kadıköy and Kabataş.
He then blamed the meteorology agency for not warning the municipality about the imminent danger.
"He does not have time to deal with floods and rain in pursuit of great things. Secondly, for some reason, these rains always coincide with a holiday," said a social media user Ömer Göncü.
Imamoğlu came under fire over his response during emergencies on several other occasions.
He was slammed for slating a ski trip to eastern Turkey immediately after a brief visit to earthquake-hit Elazığ province in January 2020.
He also received a lot of criticism on social media after photos of him meeting British Ambassador Dominic Chilcott at a restaurant for dinner while the city grappled with a heavy snowfall last winter.
Torrential rain and thunderstorms hit Istanbul and surrounding regions late Saturday night and continued Sunday.
The heavy shower inundated many streets and some low-lying areas in Turkey's largest metropolis.
Traffic in the city moved slower than usual due to the adverse conditions Sunday, while people in the street took shelter at bus stops.
Istanbul's Esenyurt, Beykoz, Üsküdar, Ümraniye, Sarıyer, Şile, Beşiktaş, Kağıthane, Şişli, Zeytinburnu, Bağcılar and Fatih districts were among the worst-hit districts in the city.
Parts of the Haramidere stream in Istanbul's Esenyurt district flooded the surrounding area due to heavy rainfall.
While houses and workplaces on the riverside were flooded, the police, fire department, 112 Emergency Services and teams from Esenyurt Municipality were carrying out search and rescue operations in the area.
The floodwater closed down 19 Mayıs Boulevard and nearby streets to traffic and pedestrians. It also inundated the ground floor of a local mosque, trapping worshippers and people sheltering there from rising water. Search and rescue teams later evacuated them.
The Turkish State Meteorological Service (TSMS) had earlier warned of strong showers and thunderstorms for the Marmara region.
