Istanbul and Kocaeli Flood Death Toll Rises to Nine as Search Ends

The death toll from flash flooding in Istanbul and neighbouring Kocaeli province reached nine on Tuesday, October 20, 2026. Rescuers recovered the last person reported missing in Istanbul, and the Istanbul Governor’s Office said search and rescue there was ending because no missing people remained unaccounted for. Turkish Minute, citing the Anadolu Agency, reported the new figure.

The rain that caused the flooding fell on Wednesday, October 14, according to Turkish Minute’s timeline. Officials described it as the heaviest rainfall recorded in Istanbul since records began in 1942. Footage showed vehicles and people swept away by fast-moving water, according to an AFP report carried by Euronews on October 19.

Seven of the dead were in Istanbul, and two people swept away in Kocaeli’s Gebze district were found in Istanbul’s Pendik district, according to Turkish Minute. Among the victims was a 14-year-old boy who was electrocuted after stepping into a puddle, AFP reported. The final body recovered on October 20 was that of Ahmet Derin, who had been swept away during flooding in Ayazağa, the governor’s office said.

The damage is extensive. Istanbul Governor Davut Gül told reporters on October 19 that about 2,000 homes and 900 businesses had suffered serious damage, and that emergency services had received roughly 19,300 reports. Authorities began paying 10,000 Turkish lira to 5,200 affected residents on Friday, with 2,500 more payments scheduled for Monday, according to Euronews and Turkish Minute.

The sequence of recoveries is detailed in Turkish Minute’s timeline. Three deaths were confirmed on Thursday and a fourth body was recovered on Friday. A fifth body, a man, was found in the Golden Horn on Sunday. On Monday, October 19, the governor said the toll had reached eight, with one person still missing in Istanbul. The final person was found on Tuesday near the Ayvansaray ferry pier and in the Golden Horn area, which ended the search.

The governor’s count of damage reports is a separate measure from the death toll. Gül said the disaster generated about 19,300 reports covering different problems, and officials at one point put the figure of property damage reports at nearly 20,000. Those figures are operational counts from emergency services, not a verified inventory of losses, and the reporting does not say how many will be assessed as serious.

Officials said the rain was the heaviest in more than 80 years, and footage from the event showed how quickly fast-moving water can carry cars and people off roads. The victims included several men found in the Golden Horn estuary, according to Euronews, which carried the AFP account. Authorities have not presented a detailed cause beyond the rainfall, and the coverage reviewed does not describe any warnings issued before the storm.

Why it matters: the figures show a disaster that reached a dense metropolitan area, and the cash payments indicate how many households needed immediate help. The toll moved steadily over the week, from three deaths confirmed on Thursday to eight by Monday and nine after the final recovery, as bodies were found in the Golden Horn and along the flood path.

What is still unknown is whether the toll will change again. The count comes from official statements and reports, and the governor’s office has said the search has ended. The sources do not give rainfall totals in millimetres, and the reports do not say how many of the 19,300 damage reports will be confirmed or how long the payments will continue.