Türkiye
A strong lodos storm halts ferries and cable cars in Istanbul and closes the Dardanelles to shipping
Developing
- What happened
- A strong south-westerly lodos wind with gusts of up to 90 km/h swept the Marmara region on Friday, cancelling ferries and cable cars and closing parks in Istanbul.
- Why it matters
- Istanbul’s governor’s office received 74 reports of blown-off roofs and fallen trees, and the Dardanelles was closed to shipping in both directions.
- What’s next
- The wind is expected to last until around midday on Saturday, when forecasters warn of heavy thunderstorms in the region until Sunday morning.
How this story developed
- 13:22First report
- 13:302nd source
- 13:30Confirmed
- 13:593rd source
- 17:154th source
- 13:22First reportNTV
- 13:302nd sourceCumhuriyet
- 13:30ConfirmedWas: Single source
- 13:593rd sourceDiken
- 17:15Latest4th sourceHabertürk
Full story
Gusts of up to 90 km/h
A strong lodos, the south-westerly wind that regularly batters the Marmara region, swept across Istanbul from the early hours of Friday after warnings from the Turkish State Meteorological Service (MGM) and the city’s disaster coordination centre AKOM, NTV reported. AKOM said gusts would reach 60 to 90 km/h and that the storm was expected to continue until midday on Saturday.
The meteorological service issued a yellow warning for strong wind and storms across Istanbul from 02:00 on 13 November to 05:00 on 14 November, Cumhuriyet and Diken reported. NTV said the wind reached 68 km/h in the city, making it hard for pedestrians to walk.
Ferries, trams and cable cars
The city ferry operator Şehir Hatları cancelled many services. Ferries between Maltepe, Beşiktaş and Kabataş and the Princes’ Islands were suspended until further notice, and the Eminönü–Rumeli Kavağı line stopped calling at Beşiktaş and Ortaköy, NTV and Diken reported.
Several sea bus crossings to Bandırma, Yalova and Bursa were also cancelled. The T1 Kabataş–Bağcılar tram ran for a time only between Kabataş and Yusufpaşa and between Çapa and Bağcılar, and the Maçka–Taşkışla and Eyüp–Piyer Loti cable cars were halted from 08:00. Flights at Istanbul Airport and Sabiha Gökçen continued as planned, the governor’s office said.
Roofs, trees and closed parks
By 13:00 the 112 emergency line had received 74 reports of blown-off roofs, fallen trees and dangerous debris, and all were dealt with, the Istanbul governor’s office said. Cumhuriyet reported no deaths or injuries in the city. In Eyüpsultan, debris from the roof of a five-storey building damaged four parked cars, and fallen trees damaged cars in Güngören, Bahçelievler and Sultangazi, NTV reported.
The governor’s office temporarily closed groves and parks including Emirgan, Yıldız, Gülhane, Küçük Çamlıca and Büyük Çamlıca, as well as the Atatürk and Florya Atatürk urban forests, Diken reported. The gas distributor İGDAŞ warned subscribers by text message to keep vents open and to switch off flued boilers and stoves before going to bed, because of the risk of flue-gas poisoning in strong wind.
Bursa, the Dardanelles and the weekend
In Bursa, where the wind reached 74 km/h, a 13-year-old pupil lost a finger when a door slammed shut in the wind at a school in İnegöl, Habertürk reported. The Dardanelles was closed to shipping in both directions from 16:45 as gusts reached up to 90 km/h, the strait’s vessel traffic service told ships by radio.
The meteorological service warned of thunderstorms from midday on Saturday in Kırklareli, Edirne, Tekirdağ, Istanbul, Çanakkale, Yalova, Bursa, Kocaeli, Sakarya, Bilecik and parts of Balıkesir, with a risk of flash floods, lightning, hail and disruption to transport until Sunday morning.