Izmir Submerged: Torrential Rain Paralyses Turkish City

A critical factor that perpetually aggravates the scale of the disaster is the city’s rapid and often unregulated urbanization. Like many fast-growing metropolitan areas, İzmir has seen vast tracts of natural land, which once absorbed rainfall, replaced by impermeable concrete and asphalt surfaces. This significant reduction in natural infiltration capacity means that nearly all the rainwater is immediately converted into surface runoff. Crucially, the encroachment of settlements and industrial zones into historical flood-prone areas, especially along creek beds and coastal lowlands, puts property and lives directly in the path of the floodwaters.