Istanbul hit by heavy rainfall, shuts Bosphorus oil routes; people literally swim in streets

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Heavy rainfall has caused floods in Turkey's largest city Istanbul, inundating roads, underpasses and subway lines and causing havoc in the city. People had to swim to safety in the flooded streets. Many roads, bridges, tunnels and metro stations were flooded and cars submerged in torrential downpours that followed two hours of lightning flashes across the city. (Reuters)

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Heavy rain and storms brought chaos to Istanbul and caused shipping traffic on oil and grain routes through the Bosphorus Strait to be suspended for some hours. (Reuters)

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Several vehicles were stranded in the floodwaters. (Reuters)

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Television footage showed people swimming in the streets and being rescued by boats from streets and flooded houses. (Reuters)

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The private DHA news agency said people stranded in homes due to flooding in the district of Silivri _ one of the worst-hit areas _ were also helped out in boats. (Reuters)

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Water Management minister Veysel Eroglu was quoted by CNN Turk as saying the rainfall would continue until Wednesday. (Reuters)

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CNN Turk said more than 6,700 bolts of lightning hit the city in a space of two hours and cited the Istanbul municipality as saying 65 kg of rain per square metre had fallen since the morning – the equivalent of 6.5 cm. (Reuters)

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Flood water flows along the tracks in Emniyet-Fatih metro station after heavy rainfall in Istanbul. (Reuters)

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The Eurasia Tunnel, connecting Istanbul's Asian and European sides under the Bosporus strait, was temporarily closed to traffic. (Reuters)

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Authorities urged residents to avoid unnecessary travel. (Reuters)