For the first time cyclone appears on Turkey, severe storm batters Istanbul

[Sevan Makaracı]

http://www.sat24.com/tr/tu

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For the first time cyclone appears on Turkey in a way that covers a large area.

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Turkish hydrometeorology specialists reported that the wind speed reached 80 km per hour. The State Meteorological Bureau warned that winds with speeds of up to 100 kilometers per hour are expected.

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This is the first time ever Turkey will witness a hurricane-like storm.

You can see satellite image of storm appears on Aegan sea coast.

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On social media, residents living in İzmir and İstanbul commented as they lived their whole life in those cities and never saw such a storm like this.

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Storm batters İstanbul, meteorologists warns of strong winds

Strong winds swept across İstanbul on Wednesday, blowing off the roofs of several houses and even shaking the Bosporus Bridge as meteorologists warned of the possibility of even stronger winds.

The Bosporus Bridge was closed to traffic due to the storm and the roof of İstanbul's historic Grand Bazaar was also damaged. Most parts of the European side of the city were blanketed in dust.

News reports said a scaffolding at a construction in İstanbul's Nişantaşı collapsed due to storm and injured two.

Several trees were toppled in İstanbul's Yenibosna neighborhood and traffic on the E-5 Highway was temporarily halted. The State Meteorological Bureau warned that winds with speeds of up to 100 kilometers per hour are expected.

The strong winds also forced the İstanbul Ferry Lines (İDO) to cancel ferries between Bostancı and Bakırköy as well as those between Bandırma and Yenikapı. Strong winds and torrential rain also wreaked havoc across western parts of Turkey on Wednesday. Traffic was also disrupted along the Ankara-Konya Highway, which was hit by a dust strom. NTV news broadcaster said there were many traffic accidents along the highway due to storm.

Source

[Muzz]

Oh my Sevan, this is something we live with here in the Tropics of Australia, and ourr buildings are built to exacting standards with re-enforced steel from the concrete floor slab through the walls and into the roof structure.  The amount of steel etc is increased the closer to the coast a dwelling is.

Unfortunately, any country that does not have the threat of Cyclones or Hurricanes will not have the extra re-enforcing.  The Cyclones we have here are rated into different Categories, with 1 being not much more than a rain depression with heavy winds, and Category 5, the very worst with winds over 240klms.  Here is a link to the Australian Tropical Cyclone information with some info on what a Cyclone is and its characteristics.  Australian BOM

It looks to me like this Cyclone in Turkey was a Category 1, gust up to or just over100klms approx.

I personally have met and spoken with people that were in the thick of Cyclone Yasi (Category 5), which was the worst cyclone to hit Australian in terms of strength, size and destructive potential.  Very interesting to not that Cyclone Yasi Track Map, showed evidence of the Earth Wobble, as it was tracking directly into Cairns but instead went south, crossing the coast at Cardwell.

The front to this Cyclone was over 500 klms.

Speaking to people that were in the brunt of it, one person was able to survive by crawling under the house in behind a small concrete staircase, about 3-4 steps, on the opposite side to the prevailing wind, and hang on.  they lost 80% of the house and this move saved their lives.

As the Zetas have already said, a Trench is the best bet, for high wind.  In a Category 5 Cyclone, even with our building standards here, a Category 5 will pick up fully loaded trucks and throw them through a house, one of the biggest dangers is roofing iron, and roofing tiles as these become very fast projectiles. 

The strongest part of your house is around stairs, and bathrooms, or basements, as long as they will not flood.  My wish is not to instill fear, but to give you hope that you can get through this, and the Zetas have said there will be nothing worse than the worst we have on earth now.  So, with that said, there were not many casualties from this cyclone, meaning everyone survived, with I think possibly a death by heart attack, but very minor for the amount of people affected.  You can do it, just be prepared, always fill your bath with water as many times, all services will be broken and at least you will have water for drinking etc.

Be prepared the winds will howl like nothing you have ever heard on earth, it will be very very loud, so ear plugs are a good idea.  If it does this for something like an hour, and then drops off to a light breeze and the sun comes out... WATCH OUT, you will be in the eye of the storm, and the winds can and will come back just as hard and loud from the other direction, for about the same amount of time.

After something as big as a Category 5, dust yourself off quickly, be grateful you are still here, and go and find others, they will be in shock, and just having someone there to talk to will help them beyond belief.  One of the locals was asked on National Radio about his experience, the announcer asked, What can you tell us of what happened, the devastation, the tragedy, etc etc (trying to sensationalise)... and the local man said "Yeah well we had a few puffs of wind" :-)

It will be a time to be lighthearted, and help pick up sticks!

Pack items, Drinking water, torches, batteries, two way radios, ear plugs, rain coats wet weather gear, some tinned food, first aid kits.

I hope sincerely hope this helps everyone around the world as this may be a challenge each person may face as the wobble gets worse.

[Sevan Makaracı]

Update:

Storms kill six, injure 100 all across Turkey

Raging storms damaged cars and streets, toppled roofs and bus stops all across Turkey. Six people died and more than 100 were injured in the storm. AA photo

Powerful winds at speeds reaching up to 150 kilometers per hour wreaked havoc across Turkey yesterday, killing six, injuring 100 and sparking forest fires.

High winds in the Central Anatolian province of Konya led to a sandstorm that caused a pileup on the Konya-Ankara and Konya-Ereğli highways, killing four and injuring 73.

Nazife Gümüş, a 51-year-old woman in the Central Anatolian province of Kırıkkale, was killed when strong winds blew a tile off of a roof, hitting her in the head.

Meanwhile, a passenger bus carrying Spanish tourists to the Central Anatolian province of Aksaray hit a cargo truck from the rear due to low visibility caused by the sandstorms. All but one of the 35 tourists on the bus were injured.

Some 600 hectares of forest land were burned in a fire caused by raging storms in the district of Safranbolu in the Black sea province of Karabük. The province’s deputy governor, Ertuğ Şevket Aksoy, said the fire had been brought under control and that efforts to cool the blaze were underway.
Source

[Howard]

Freak Windstorm Blasts Turkey's Largest City -

Howling winds ripped through Turkey's largest city Wednesday afternoon, tearing flags from their poles, destroying the set of a blockbuster Hollywood film, and wounding at least 31 people, Turkish authorities said.

The winds -- measured at 100 kph or 62 miles per hour -- ripped the roofs from some 350 buildings, the Istanbul municipality reported, and downed more than 100 trees.

Fishing boats rushed to the rescue of desperate passengers aboard a yacht that caught fire in the Bosphorus, the strait that divides the densely populated city.

As the wind quickly whipped up flames emerging from the back of the boat into a huge blaze, nervous passengers dressed in business suits clustered around the bow of the vessel.

The Turkish television agency DHA filmed the passengers getting onto fishing boats as the fire engulfed the rest of the yacht. Turkish media said the passengers escaped the dramatic blaze unharmed.

In Istanbul's posh Nisantasi neighborhood, the gusts ripped down an advertising billboard and sent construction scaffolding crashing down onto the pavement and parked cars.

[Selim KARABIYIK]

Konya, Turkey.

Sandstorm which is an extremely rare event in Turkey caused traffic accidents on Konya road and claimed 2 lives.

[Sevan Makaracı]

Istanbul:

Ankara: