Turkey: Floods in Istanbul bring calls for better urban planning

The severe flash floods that hit the the northwest province of Istanbul, Turkey last week have sparked up criticism against the government for years of poor urban planning and negligence in disaster prevention.

"At the root of the disaster in Istanbul lies the lack of knowledge of the environmental realities and particularly the state of natural resources," said Umit Erdem, Manager of the Ege University Environmental Problems Research and Implementation Center.