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Flash floods in the Turkish capital, Ankara, have caused havoc.

Cars were swept away and businesses hit, in the Mamak district of the city.

So far injuries to six people have been reported. </s> Flash floods caused by heavy rain have wreaked havoc in Ankara.

The heavy downpours occurred in the Mamak district of the capital in on Saturday, injuring six people, according to state-run Anadolu news agency.

There were dramatic scenes of drivers trying to escape from their vehicles and several cars being swept down the street by flood waters.

Municipality workers rushed to the scene to pull out stranded motorists. Dozens of vehicles were damaged and many shops were flooded.

Ankara’s mayor Mustafa Tuna said “it was a natural disaster like never before”.

A Turkish official explained that the rain was expected to last three hours on Saturday afternoon. It came down in just nine minutes, causing the flash flooding.

Turkey’s labour and social security minister said six people were injured in the floods, which damaged more than 160 cars and 25 businesses. The minister said the government was working to assess and alleviate the damage.

Footage showed cars and trucks being swept away in the floods. One man escaped being submerged by climbing on top of a car caught in the flood.

Showers remain in the forecast for much of this week ahead and some of them will be heavy and thundery. It may even be next Saturday before the wet weather finally clears away. </s> A torrential flood has swept through a district in the Turkish capital of Ankara, sending vehicles downstream and shocking residents.

A Turkish official said the rain was expected to last three hours Saturday afternoon but instead came down in nine minutes, causing flooding in Ankara’s Mamak district.

Julide Sarieroglu, Turkey’s minister of labor and social security, said four people were injured in the floods, which damaged more than 160 cars and 25 businesses. She said the government was working to assess and alleviate the damage.

Footage showed cars and trucks being swept away in the floods. One man escaped being submerged by climbing on top of a car caught in the flood. </s> A torrential downpour in Turkey on Sunday has wreaked complete havoc in the country’s capital. Heavy downpours caused flash floods in the Mamak district in Ankara, turbulent enough that they swept away cars and trucks from the road.

The heavy downpour was expected to last for three hours on Saturday afternoon, reported ABC. Instead it came down in just nine minutes, causing the floods.

The dramatic footage (above and below) shows vehicles being swept downstream by the fast-moving floods, and several drivers frantically trying to escape. One man in the video above could be seen clinging to the bonnet of his car for protection.

According to Turkey’s Social Security Minister Julide Sarieroglu, six people were injured in the floods which damaged more than 160 vehicles and 25 businesses. She also said the government was working to assess and alleviate the damage. Mustafa Tuna, the Mayor of Ankara, meanwhile said it was “a natural disaster like never before”.

A video below shows the terrible aftermath of the floods and all the damage left behind in its wake. </s> Flash floods in southern Iran kill at least 11, injure 15

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iranian state TV is reporting that flash floods have killed at least 11 people and injured 15 in the country's south.

Monday's report quotes the head of Iran's emergency medical services, Pirhossein Koulivand, as saying the sudden flooding was triggered by heavy rains outside of the city of Shiraz.

State TV said the provinces of Fars, Kurdistan, Qom and Isfahan are also on alert for imminent flooding.

The northern provinces of Golestan and Mazandaran have been struggling with flooding for over a week, and two people have been killed.

Iran's metrology department had warned about the heavy rains in various areas across Iran.

Last year, at least 30 people were killed by flash floods in the Iranian province of Eastern Azerbaijan. </s> Flash flooding in Iran has killed at least 19 people and injured 119 in the city of Shiraz in Fars province, according to Iran’s semi-official Tasnim News Agency.

Fars Gov. Enayatollah Rahimi said a short but intense rainfall caused sudden flash flooding that inundated a main highway between Shiraz and Esfahan, trapping many travelers leaving the city. City officials did not have enough time to warn people in the area ahead of the deadly weather conditions.

The heavy storm system over the region delivered a month’s worth of rainfall in only a few hours, according to CNN meteorologist Taylor Ward. Coupled with the terrain in the area, this may have caused a funneling effect which is not uncommon to see in some extreme flash flooding episodes.

“With the arrival of new precipitation into the country, more than 13 provinces of the country are involved in severe rainfall, snow and blizzard in a way that 22 communications routes of the country have been completely blocked,” semi-official Mehr News Agency said.

Emergency and rescue organizations are on full alert in Isfahan and Tehran as the heavy rain is predicted to continue to fall in much of the country especially in southwest to central Iran. The storm will continue to impact Iran Monday night and into early Tuesday morning before the weather system begins to ease late Tuesday. </s> JAKARTA (Reuters) - Flash floods and landslides triggered by torrential rain in Indonesia’s easternmost province of Papua have killed at least 58 people, injured dozens and displaced more than 4,000, authorities said on Sunday.

A search for more possible victims was under way in the town of Sentani, which was hit by flash floods late on Saturday. Fifty-one people were killed and 74 injured there, Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, spokesman of the national disaster agency, told a news briefing.

Heavy rain caused landslides in the nearby provincial capital of Jayapura, killing seven there, Nugroho said.

Soldiers pulled alive a 5-month old baby from under the rubble of his house and took him to hospital, Papua military spokesman Muhammad Aidi said.

The number of victims “will probably increase because the evacuation process is still taking place and not all affected areas have been reached,” Nugroho said.

About 4,150 people are sheltering in six evacuation centers, he said.

Hundreds of houses, three bridges and a Twin Otter airplane parked at the airport were damaged by the floods. The Sentani airport, the province’s main transport hub, remained open.

TV footage showed mud and large logs on Sentani’s main roads after floodwaters receded.

Disaster authorities have warned local governments of flash flood risks due to deforestation in the mountains surrounding the town, Nugroho said, adding that in 2018 Jakarta sent seedlings intended for tree-planting.

“Forest destruction in the Cyclops mountains have increased for use as firewood and to turn the land into plantations,” Nugroho said.

“Since 2018 we have warned the Jayapura government to be careful of flash flood risks because of this deforestation,” he added. </s> Tehran, Iran – More than 100 injured and 19 dead in the flash flooding that occurred in Tehran on Monday, 25 March. The Ministry of Interior warned the civilians to not take any trips and be cautious of the rains that may follow.

The Disaster Management Organisation had sent a nationwide message of attentiveness when picking routes near mountain and river banks.

The Mehrabad International Airport had cancelled or delayed all its flight in and out of Iran due to bad weather. Iran’s Meteorological Organisation on Wednesday predicted a flood due to heavy rain, thus informed twelve provinces to be on high alert.

A resident of Shiraz, impacted by the flood claimed, ‘that the flood comes in two sets of 15-minute heavy rainfalls, which cause the flood. Damage could have been controlled if people had evacuated the area as soon as they found out about the flood.’

Nowruz also known as the Iranian New Year is when the flood occurs, it is a holiday when many Iranians travel within the country.

President of Iran, Hassan Rouhani who was traveling to Qeshm Island had shortened his trip to offer his condolences to the flood victims while showing appreciation to the armed forces and the police for rescue operations.

Evacuations are being conducted in various areas of Iran as there is still a possibility of an overflow which keeps the citizens still at risk. The flood is likely to also impact tourism, as many bridges and villages have been destroyed. </s> JAKARTA (Reuters) - Flash floods in Indonesia’s easternmost province of Papua have killed at least 50 people and badly injured dozens of others and damaged a small plane at the region’s main airport, authorities said on Sunday.

The town of Sentani near the provincial capital Jayapura was hit by flash floods triggered by torrential rain on Saturday, national disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said in a statement.

A search operation was still under way, Nugroho said, warning that the death toll could rise.

At least nine houses, two bridges and a Twin Otter plane parked at the region’s main airport were damaged by the floods. But the Sentani airport, the province’s main transport hub, remains open, Nugroho said.

Disaster authorities have warned local governments of flash flood risks due to deforestation in the mountains surrounding the town, he said.

“We’ve told local authorities to be careful of floods or flash floods considering forest destruction that has been happening in the Cyclops mountains,” Nugroho told Kompas TV.

TV footage showed waters have receded, leaving mud, logs and debris on Sentani’s main roads.

More than 120 residents were taking shelter at government offices after their homes were hit by the floods, the disaster agency said earlier.

Authorities, aided by the Red Cross and volunteers, were helping the displaced.
Flash floods cause transportation issues and damage buildings in Ankara, the capital of Turkey.