Disaster and Emergency Management Agency

Sudden rain hit Turkey's Marmara region, including Istanbul, following a torrential rain warning declared by the Turkish State Meteorological Service for the provinces in the region.

Heavy rain and thunderstorms struck both of Istanbul's European and Asian sides on Sept. 10, slowing life down as the traffic ground to a halt.

The death toll from floods in Turkey's Black Sea region has risen to 82, authorities said on Aug. 21. 

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Heavy rains hit the region in the north of the country last Wednesday, leaving 71 people dead in the province of Kastamonu, said a statement by the Disaster and Emergency Management Agency.

Europe does not fully grasp the magnitude of Syria's refugee crisis and should open its borders to shoulder a responsibility Turkey has been bearing alone, the head of the Turkish relief effort said. 

The Turkish government is planning to turn Istanbul into a global humanitarian hub and to export its expertise and experience on the issue to the world, Disaster and Emergency Management Agency (AFAD) Director General Fuat Oktay has said, adding that Turkey is introducing a "new approach" to providing humanitarian aid.

One of the most important United Nations meetings on humanitarian action is set to be held in Istanbul in May next year under the title of ?World Humanitarian Summit,? marking a first of its kind.

A letter containing a suspicious substance triggered alarm at the Canadian Consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 24, prompting the dispatch of chemical and biological experts.

A whole new generation of Syrian refugees is being born in Turkey, as the number of Syrians in the country heads toward 1.4 million Some 30,000 Syrian children have been born in Turkish cities where there are refugee camps since the beginning of the war more than three years ago. Another 30,000 Syrian babies are believed to have been born in various other provinces of Turkey.