Izmir Submerged: Torrential Rain Paralyses Turkish City

The meteorological dynamic behind these severe floods is complex, often involving a powerful convergence of weather systems over the Aegean Sea. Warm, moist air masses from the Mediterranean are drawn toward the Turkish coastline, where they encounter the steep topography and mountainous backdrop surrounding İzmir. This orographic lifting effect forces the air to rise rapidly, cooling it and triggering extremely intense, localized rainfall. The rapid deposition of such heavy precipitation is frequently cited as the primary trigger, creating an instant volume of surface runoff that the city's natural and artificial drainage systems are simply not designed to handle.