A tropical storm expected to hit the western shores of Turkey this weekend has alarmed authorities. Municipalities have set up crisis desks and warned the public to be cautious as the storm approaches.
"It is a big natural event and can be damaging. We set up a crisis desk and are on alert. We will have all firefighters at hand," said Buğra Gökçe, secretary-general for the municipality of İzmir, Turkey's third-largest city that straddles the Aegean coast. Crews checked rainwater drains and installed steel reinforcements around big trees to prevent them from being knocked off by the expected powerful storm.
The tropical storm developing in the Mediterranean is likely to bring heavy rain and gusty winds to the region. According to the Turkish Meteorology Regional Directorate, the storm developing in the central Mediterranean is expected to move toward the east on Sunday. Current assessments show that the storm will hit İzmir, Aydın, Manisa, Balıkesir and Çanakkale provinces at a speed of 100-120 kilometers per hour (kph).
While heavy rains are the major concern from the expected storm, the Turkish State Meteorological Service (TSMS) said heavy rainfall of 75 kilograms or more per square meters is expected. Hasan Çukur, head of Dokuz Eylül University's Geography department, told Anadolu Agency (AA) that such storms which are usually seen in the Ecuador region will now be seen in a more regions. "A tropical storm is possible this week. The more temperatures rise across the world, the higher the chances of such storms in Turkey," Çukur added.
Gökçe is advising residents to check the strength of their roofs, saying strong winds can tear them apart. Authorities also warned locals to keep their boats on the ground while fishermen started taking their boats to safer harbors from small ports.
Associate Professor Murat Gündüz from Dokuz Eylül University told Demirören News Agency (DHA) that the winds of the storm could reach up to 180 kph, but it is likely that it would hit land on the southern Greek mainland and the Aegean island of Crete first, before approaching the Turkish coast with winds of 80 kph.
"These strong storms are very rare in the Mediterranean. Storms of this scale have only been witnessed 10 or 20 times in the past centuries. Therefore it is important; it needs to be monitored. There is not yet an official institution that monitors hurricane forecasts in European countries that have a coastline on the Mediterranean. It is expected that [Mediterranean] hurricanes will be more frequent and strong in the future due to climate change. That's why hurricane forecast centers are needed," Gündüz said.
