A Kurdish family suffered a massive loss when their home, located next to a concreted-over water canal, was inundated by floodwaters following intense rain on 19 November in Batman (Êlih), a Kurdish majority city in southeast Turkey. This catastrophe resulted in the deaths of Lalihan Güner, 54, and three of her grandchildren, Asenat, 1, İsrafil, 5, and Birgül, 9.
Mesut and Yakup Güner, who survived the flood that took the lives of their mother and three nieces and nephews, described the harrowing events of that night. Mesut Güner recounted, “As my mother warned ‘the water is coming’, the house was swiftly flooded. Before we could escape, she hit her head against the wall. I tried to hold her, but my strength failed. We barely saved ourselves. My mother didn’t survive.”
The family, whose livelihood depended on scrap dealing, lost not only their loved ones but also their home in the disaster. Mesut lamented their current state, saying they are now living in mud and destitution, having lost everything to the flood.
Yakup recalled his efforts during the flood, saying, “I went to save the animals, thinking I could at least rescue them. Then the floodwaters surged, the building’s wall collapsed, and we were trapped. I couldn’t see my mother; she was lost in the water. I managed to save my nephew, my sister-in-law, and my elder brother. That was all I could do. The others couldn’t be saved. We were gripped by the flood, electrocution threats, and the struggle to save the children.”
He expressed despair over the lack of infrastructure in their neighbourhood, asserting that proper facilities could have prevented the tragedy. “If there had been proper infrastructure, maybe my mother and three nieces and nephews wouldn’t have died,” he said.
Following the disaster, officials promised assistance and home reconstruction, but according to the Güner family, these promises remain unfulfilled. “We’ve received nothing but soup so far. Soup is something everyone has at home. We need help to repair our damages,” Mesut stated, calling for attention and infrastructure development in their area.
The family is pleading for assistance, as they are currently left without a place to sleep or adequate food.
