An aerial photo shows destroyed buildings after floods and mudslides in Bozkurt [Ismail Coskun/IHA via AP]

Ankara, August 16 (RHC)-- Seventy people have been killed and emergency workers continue to search for 47 others missing after flash floods swept through Turkish Black Sea provinces, authorities said.

The floods last week brought chaos as torrents of water tossed dozens of cars and heaps of debris along streets, destroyed buildings and bridges, closed roads and damaged electricity infrastructure.

Sixty people died as a result of floods in Kastamonu province. Another nine people died in Sinop and one in Bartin, the Disaster and Emergency Management Directorate (AFAD) said on Monday.  Forty-seven people were reported missing in Kastamonu and Sinop, it said.  AFAD affirmed some 8,000 personnel, backed by 20 rescue dogs, are involved in the rescue and assistance efforts.

Drone footage showed massive damage in the town of Bozkurt in Kastamonu province, where rescue teams searched demolished buildings.  More than 2,000 people were evacuated from affected areas, some with the help of helicopters and boats, AFAD said. About 40 villages remain without power.

Weather forecasters warned of further flooding because of expected heavy rainfall on Monday in Black Sea provinces to the east of the regions affected last week.  The heavy flooding came after Turkey endured a searing heatwave and as crews in the south were taming wildfires that raced across the country’s Mediterranean coast.

Climate scientists say there is little doubt that climate change from the burning of coal, oil and natural gas is driving more extreme events – such as heatwaves, droughts, wildfires, floods and storms – as the planet warms.