On Vacation When The Area He Leads Is Submerged By Floods, The Mayor Of Istanbul Reaps Strong Criticism

Illustration of floods in Turkey in 2009. (Wikimedia Commons/Abch222)

JAKARTA - Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoğlu drew harsh criticism as he continued his holiday as several districts of Turkey's biggest metropolis were reeling from flash floods, caused by torrential water over the weekend.

As one of the city's worst-affected districts, Esenyurt, struggles to bounce back, Imamoğlu reportedly spent a nine-day holiday during the Feast of Sacrifice, with his family in Fethiye, southwest Turkey.

He drew criticism from citizens, officials, and politicians over the weekend after sending a tweet claiming he was monitoring the situation and overseeing rescue efforts while away.

While Imamoğlu, of the opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), is "lost in action", the flood-hit area was visited by Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu and Istanbul Governor Ali Yerlikaya in the early hours of Sunday.

Residents took to social media to voice their grievances when the hashtag Imamoğlu trended on Twitter in Turkey on Tuesday.

Many questioned the mayor's sense of responsibility, while others criticized his inaction and lack of empathy, pointing out that he failed to show up or even send a message of sympathy to the people of Istanbul, despite nearly 72 hours have passed after the massacre took place.

"He wasn't even on Twitter for 27 hours. Forget visiting flooded areas, not even a "get well soon" message", wrote a user named Elif Burcu Ateş, according to Daily Sabah on July 12.

Some residents even made fun of Imamoğlu's history of being 'lost in action' or on vacation during natural disasters.

Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoğlu. (Wikimedia Commons/CeeGee)

He was also on vacation in the summer of 2019, as the newly elected mayor, when the city was hit by flash floods that wreaked havoc on the city's lower and seafront areas, including major transport hubs such as Eminönü, Beşiktaş, sküdar, Karaköy, Kadıköy, and Kabataş.

He later blamed the meteorological agency for not warning the city government of the imminent danger.

"He doesn't have time to deal with flooding and rain to catch up on big things. Second, for some reason, this rain always coincides with a holiday", criticized one social media user mer Göncü.

Not only that, Imamoğlu has come under fire for his response during the state of emergency on several other occasions.

In addition, he was also criticized for planning a ski trip to eastern Turkey immediately after a short visit to the earthquake-hit Elaz Province in January 2020.

He has also received a lot of criticism on social media after a photo of him meeting British Ambassador Dominic Chilcott at a restaurant for dinner, as the city grappled with a heavy snowfall last winter.

Heavy rains and a thunderstorm hit Istanbul and the surrounding area Saturday night and continued Sunday. Heavy rains flooded many roads and some low-lying areas in Turkey's largest metropolis.

Traffic in the city moved slower than usual due to poor conditions on Sunday, while people on the roads took shelter at bus stops.

Esenyurt, Beykoz, sküdar, mraniye, Sarıyer, ile, Beşiktaş, Kağıthane, işli, Zeytinburnu, Bağcılar and Fatih districts in Istanbul were among the worst-affected districts in the city.

Part of the Haramidere stream in Istanbul's Esenyurt district flooded the surrounding area due to heavy rains.

While homes and workplaces on the riverbank were flooded, police, firefighters, 112 Emergency Services and teams from the City of Esenyurt carried out search and rescue operations in the area.

Floodwaters closed Boulevard on May 19 and nearby streets to traffic and pedestrians. It also inundated the ground floor of a local mosque, trapping worshipers and those taking shelter there from the rising water. The SAR team then evacuated them.

The Turkish State Meteorological Service (TSMS) had earlier warned of heavy rains and thunderstorms in the Marmara region.