Natural disasters

The weather will change sharply today.

Already in the coming hours, the northwestern wind will sweep in cold air, first in the western regions

Rainfalls will begin in the afternoon in the entire country. As temperatures drop, rain will turn into snow, but from the west to east rain will stop and snow cover will form only in the eastern and northeastern regions.

Turkey was the most successful country in combatting forest fires in 2020 with an area of 6.2 hectares per fire, according to the European Forest Fire Information System data.

The area per fire in the U.S. was 68 hectares, and in Spain, it was 20.4 hectares, while this figure remained around 6.2 hectares in Turkey.

Located in Central Anatolia and once known as Turkey's grain warehouse, the Konya Closed Basin is fighting drought due to improper irrigation activities and uncontrolled agriculture.

Çıralı Sinkhole, one of the most important natural formations in the region with an area of nearly 17,500 square meters, has also dried up after weeks without rain.

Landslides have ranked second following earthquakes as the type of natural disaster that claims the most deaths in Turkey, according to a study.

A study was initiated in 2017 by the Istanbul Technical University's (İTÜ) Eurasia Institute of Earth Sciences in order to detect the deadly landslide events in the country.

The year 2020 hit an all-time record in Turkey for witnessing the most extreme weather incidents, with 984 cases of flood, hail, heavy precipitation and storms.

Heavy rainfalls have caused disruption of traffic and disasters

The state should consider moving certain mountain settlements to a different location instead of investing in expensive anti-erosion works, says Efthymis Lekkas, professor of dynamic tectonic applied geology at Athens University and head of the Organization of Earthquake Planning and Protection.

A woman who lost her husband and both her children in the 2018 fire at Mati, east Attica, accuses fire service officials of a coverup and is demanding that they face criminal charges.

An earthquake of magnitude 6.8 struck off Chile's coast on Thursday, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said, but local authorities said there was no immediate report of any damage.

Turkey is experiencing the warmest May due to hot weather front from North Africa, causing rising temperatures across the country, according to state meteorology officials.
After the weekend during which the temperatures set all-time record highs for May in Antalya, Muğla, Burdur and Isparta, temperatures hit 40 degrees Celsius on May 18 in most cities.