After Istanbul floods, 9 districts face 24 hours without water; ISKI repeatedly delays restoration time

Water cuts affecting approximately one hundred neighborhoods across nine Istanbul districts have exceeded 24 hours; ISKI's repeated postponement of when water would return has left thousands of households without recourse. Despite the city receiving 272 kilograms of rainfall per square meter, ISKI provided no clear information regarding the reason for the cuts or when they would end.

Küçükçekmece and Başakşehir stand out among the districts experiencing water cuts. These same neighborhoods had previously faced cuts resulting from flooding and infrastructure damage; this time the duration is longer, and ISKI's communication has been more fragmented.

Dursun Yıldız, chairman of the Water Policies Association and member of the Istanbul Environmental Planning Science Board, linked what occurred directly to urban planning decisions: "It has been scientifically proven that Istanbul's creek systems have been negatively affected by unplanned construction and profit-driven land use decisions." Pointing to the transformation of Alibey Creek, Kâğıthane Creek, and Sarıyer Ayazağa Creek into floods, Yıldız emphasized that the solution must occur in two stages: first, halt new construction, then reopen narrowed flood zones wherever possible.

The fact that most of the areas hit by the flood were former creek beds or forested areas aligns with the accelerated construction period that intensified after 1999.