A powerful storm hit Istanbul on Thursday, bringing strong winds, towering waves, and widespread disruption to sea transport, and it also affected several other provinces across western Turkiye.Several videos are going viral on social media, and one of them shows a Pegasus flight aborting landing at Istanbul Airport due to severe weather. The flight could be seen losing balance and couldn’t move straight, forcing the pilot to abort the landing.Another video showed a strong lodos winds battered the area, rocking boats violently and creating rough, stormy conditions.Following warnings from the Turkish State Meteorological Service, gale-force winds began sweeping through Istanbul in the morning hours and intensified over the Bosphorus and the Marmara Sea, Hurriyet Daily News reported.In Besiktas, large waves slammed into the shoreline, creating hazardous conditions along the coast. Maritime operations were brought to a grinding halt as treacherous sea conditions made navigation impossible. Besiktas–Kadiköy passenger boat services were suspended, while some ferry lines announced multiple cancellations.In Bakirköy, a tree toppled onto four vehicles along the coastal road, forcing a lane to close temporarily. In Bahçelievler, another fallen tree injured a pedestrian, who was reported to have sustained minor injuries.According to official data, wind speeds exceeded 70 kilometres per hour in some districts.Beyond Istanbul, severe weather battered the broader Marmara and Aegean regions. In the northwestern province of Çanakkale, strong winds forced the temporary suspension of transit ship traffic through the Dardanelles and several ferry services were also cancelled. In the neighbouring province of Edirne, heavy rainfall caused localised flooding. Fishermen in the western city of Izmir remained in port due to rough seas, carrying out maintenance work while waiting for conditions to improve.The storm also reached the Black Sea coast, with severe winds causing trees to topple and block roads in Samsun.
