Sky News, on Climate, 15 October 2026

6.0out of 10Serious

Three dead and 2,700 evacuated as heavy rainfall and floods shut down Istanbul

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Three people have died and 2,700 evacuated as heavy rainfall and floods have shut down Istanbul. <p>A 14-year-old was electrocuted after stepping in a puddle, and a 34-year-old slipped on a footpath and hit their head, officials said. The body of a third person was discovered near another park in the Kagithane district.</p><p>Schools have closed and residents have been advised to stay home except for necessary travel. Rescuers worked overnight on Wednesday to save people trapped at their workplaces.</p><widget id="7"></widget><p>More than 2,700 people who were stranded by the floods were safely evacuated throughout the city, <strong><a href="https://news.sky.com/topic/turkey-5859" target="_self">Turkey's</a></strong> interior minister Mustafa Ciftci said.</p><p>The <strong><a href="https://news.sky.com/topic/istanbul-6066/1" target="_self">Istanbul</a></strong> Metropolitan Municipality said .</p><p>Heavy rain was still falling on Thursday morning, with more showers predicted for the coming days.</p> <widget id="8"></widget><p><strong>More from Sky News:</strong><br /><a href="https://news.sky.com/story/at-least-17-children-killed-in-pakistan-school-collapse-13599466" target="_self"><strong>Dozens killed in Pakistan school collapse</strong></a><br /><strong><a href="https://news.sky.com/story/worlds-oldest-shipwreck-found-off-turkish-coast-archaeologists-say-13599286" target="_self">World's oldest shipwreck found in Turkey</a></strong></p><p>Mr Ciftci said 272mm of rain had fallen in some areas, and disaster and emergency agencies were "working in the field".</p><p>"Our state continues its efforts with all its resources to ensure the safety of our citizens and to meet their needs," he said in a post on X.</p><p>Acknowledging the deaths in Istanbul, he said: "We are deeply saddened."</p> <widget id="10"></widget><p>The downpour flooded businesses and homes, inundated roads and underpasses and brought traffic to a standstill.</p><p>Pictures from Istanbul show streets transformed into rivers, cars and trucks washed away and pedestrians hunched under umbrellas.</p><p>In Sakarya province, around 93 miles (150km) east of Istanbul, a two-story house that was built on a riverbed collapsed in the floods, HaberTurk television reported.</p> <widget id="1"></widget><p>Residents living in basement flats have been advised to spend the night elsewhere.</p><p>Motorcycles have been banned from the roads.</p>

Left out here: Leaves out what changes the picture

Officials said four other people were still missing. Without this, a reader takes three deaths as the full human toll so far.

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What we found (2)

Sky News reports three deaths, 2,700 evacuations and record rainfall in Istanbul. It never tells the reader that warming makes downpours like this heavier and more frequent, so the flood reads as a freak event with no cause beyond the weather.

  1. Leaves out the climate link

    Serious

    “some areas had the highest amount of rain since 1985”

    Why this matters
    Sky News reports record-breaking rainfall in some areas with the words "highest amount of rain since 1985". It reports deaths, evacuations and a city shut down, but never connects the rain to a warming climate.
    The impression it gives
    A reader comes away thinking this was a rare natural downpour, with nothing about a changing climate that makes such events likelier.
    The context
    Human-caused warming has made heavy rainfall more frequent and more intense. Neither climate change nor warming appears anywhere in the article.

    How we know

    • On the recordThat warming has made hot extremes, heavy rainfall, agricultural and ecological drought, fire weather and intense tropical cyclones more frequent or more severe.ipcc.ch (opens in a new tab)
    • Checked against the whole articleIt never uses the words “climate” and “warming”.

    Show it in the article

    Written straight

    The Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality said some areas had the highest amount of rain since 1985. Climate change is making extreme rainfall like this more frequent and more intense.

  2. Leaves out what changes the picture

    Minor

    What is missing

    Officials said four other people were still missing. Without this, a reader takes three deaths as the full human toll so far.

    Show where it belongs

How other outlets reported it

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