The toll of the flooding in Istanbul has been announced: 3 thousand homes and businesses were damaged. Istanbul Governor Davut Gül made statements in Ayazağa, Sarıyer, one of the areas most affected by the floods and water inundations in the city. Gül said that many homes and businesses in Şile were flooded. There were no fatalities. Noting that the demolitions in Ayazağa have been completed, Gül said the demolitions were carried out only on buildings within the stream bed and rehabilitation project.
Gül announced that approximately 3 thousand homes and businesses suffered serious damage and that compensation for these damages would begin to be paid as of today. He reported that the entirety of the approximately 60 million lira in agricultural damage had been assessed and would be delivered within this week. Those who have not had an assessment done can apply to the AFAD coordination truck.
Noting that around 19 thousand 300 reports had been received after the disaster, Gül announced that ten thousand lira each was paid on Friday to 5 thousand 200 people with minor damage, and that the same payment would be made today to 2 thousand 500 people. A significant portion of the goods in the shops was left underwater. Tenants will not be made to suffer losses.
Gül said that two people who had an accident in Gebze and were swept away as far as Pendik had been located, and that one person was still being searched for.
Responding to a question regarding the deaths of two people at a concert at the Istanbul Congress Center, Gül said the deaths were caused by three people who attended the concert using different drugs. Gül noted that this was determined through forensic medicine reports. No problem was found in the products consumed at the concert. The judicial process is ongoing.
Why it matters
The fact that damage payments will begin within the same week, immediately after the assessment, means the compensation timeline for flood victims has now become clear; in contrast, it remains uncertain to what extent the ten thousand lira each paid out for minor damages will cover the actual losses of shopkeepers whose stores and belongings were left underwater. The decision to limit demolitions solely to buildings within the streambed and the rehabilitation project brings back onto the agenda how construction in Istanbul’s stream basins magnifies disaster risk. The approximately 60 million lira in agricultural damage shows that the flood struck not only the city center but also the surrounding farmland. The attribution of the deaths at the concert to drugs through the forensic medicine report, meanwhile, changes the course of the investigation while leaving open the question of oversight regarding substance use at events.
Background
Istanbul is not a new name in the FikirPilot archive: we have published 16 news stories mentioning this name in the last 90 days; the most recent is dated October 19, 2026.