Erdogan visits Turkish flood victims as death toll hits 31

ISTANBUL: The death toll from Turkey’s flash floods soared to 31 on Friday as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited one of the hardest-hit cities to lead a prayer for the victims and pledge government help.

The devastation across Turkey’S northern Black Sea regions came just as the disaster-hit country was winning control over hundreds of wildfires that killed eight people and destroyed swathes of forest along its scenic southern coast.

A previous spate of flooding killed six people last month in the northeastern province of Rize.

Scientists believe such natural disasters are becoming more intense and frequent because of global warming caused by polluting emissions.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan sounded both mournful and hopeful as he attended a funeral for the first victims and led a prayer before a few hundred residents in the inundated city of Kastamonu.

“We will do whatever we can as a state as quickly as we can, and rise from the ashes,” Erdogan told the crowd.

“We can t bring back the citizens we lost, but our state has the means and power to compensate those who lost loved ones.”