Search for missing continues in Turkey as flooding kills at least 44

The search for those missing in northern Turkey continues as at least 44 people have died from flooding around the coast of the Black Sea.

In the district of Kastamonu, the floods had killed 36 people, according to Turkey’s Disaster And Emergency Management Presidency, Reuters reported. One died in Bartin, and another seven died in Sinop.

In the town of Bozkurt, the flooding demolished apartments, the BBC reported. The British news outlet said that the province of Kastamonu had fared the worst in the floods.

The BBC reported that more than 300 villages are without power and that more than 1,700 were forced to evacuate.

The Turkish president led prayers during a funeral service on Friday for some of the lives that were lost during the floods.

“We can’t bring back the citizens we lost, but our state has the means and power to compensate those who lost loved ones,” President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said, according to the BBC.

Earlier this month, Turkey was grappling with a wave of wildfires, which saw eight people die and thousands flee. Swaths of forest acreage were devastated, Reuters reported, though officials have been able to get the wildfires under control since then. 

Turkey’s forestry minister said that more than 5,000 personnel were committed to the firefighting efforts in addition to 15 planes and more than 60 helicopters. The wire service said that weather conditions, including temperatures rising above 104 degrees Fahrenheit and strong winds, had helped the wildfires spread.