ANKARA
Another 783 people were evacuated Wednesday from Edirne in northwestern Turkey as floodwaters swept the region, according to a Turkish emergency agency.
Prime Ministry Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency of Turkey, also known as AFAD, released a statement saying that an additional 783 people had been evacuated from the region, including 323 stranded residents, who were evacuated with the help of helicopters.
According to the statement, teams from Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality and District Disaster Volunteers, two helicopters of the Turkish Army General Staff and one ambulance helicopter provided by Turkey’s Health Ministry were continuing works in the flooded region.
"A sufficient amount of equipment and people are taking part in transportation and evacuation works in the region," AFAD’s statement said. "Motor-pumps are held ready for water disposal."
On Monday, around 1,500 people had to be evacuated from their villages to safer zones after torrential rains hit the northwestern Turkish province on the border with Greece, causing the Tunca and Meric riverbeds to overflow.
Four villages and several isolated farmhouses close to the city of Arta in Greece were also evacuated after heavy rains swept across the northwestern province of Epirus.
The historic Plaka Bridge near Arta also collapsed after at least four rivers in the region burst their banks, three of them near Arta and another closer to Greece's border with Albania.
