ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif offered to extend all possible assistance to Türkiye this week, as the country’s interior minister described the recent flooding in Istanbul as the “biggest” flood disaster in 80 years.

Istanbul, Türkiye’s largest city with 16 million residents, was hit by more rain in the 48 hours up to Thursday morning than the combined historical average for September and October, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported this week.

Homes and businesses were flooded as water covered streets and parks across the city. Vehicles were washed away and many ended up piled up at the bottom of hills, as the official death toll from the floods rose to four on Friday. Turkish Interior Minister Mustafa Ciftsi said on Friday that the country is facing the “biggest flood disaster” since 1942.

“I am deeply saddened by the loss of life and destruction caused by the severe flood disaster that occurred in Istanbul,” Sharif wrote on social media platform X on Friday.

“Pakistan stands in solidarity with the fraternal Turkish people and is ready to provide all possible support during this challenging time.”

Türkiye’s General Directorate of Meteorology has warned of “heavy and intense” rainfall for Istanbul and four nearby provinces over the weekend.

Pakistan has itself suffered climate change-driven disasters over the past couple of years, including torrential rains in 2022 that left over 1,700 people dead and at one point in time, submerged a third of the country in water.

Heavy rains and cataclysmic floods last year, especially in the eastern province of Punjab, killed over 1,000 people and forced millions to be displaced.

Pakistan enjoys close relations with Türkiye rooted in decades of cooperation in the domains of economy, energy, defense and other matters. Istanbul and Islamabad signed a landmark trilateral defense pact, the Makkah Joint Defense Agreement, in August with Saudi Arabia.

The pact, signed amid surging regional tensions due to the US-Iran war, stipulates that an attack against any of the three nations will be considered as an attack against all of them.