Water pipe bursts, causing street collapse and flooding in Adana

A burst water main in Adana, Turkey, triggered a street collapse and flooded several homes and businesses early Thursday morning. The incident occurred around 3 a.m. on Şehit Mehmet Özel Street in the Narlıca neighborhood of the Seyhan district, transforming the road into a pool of water and causing significant traffic disruptions.

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These are 30-40 year old CTP pipes that have reached the end of their lifespan, so these kinds of bursts happen from time to time, which is quite normal.

Residents and business owners expressed frustration over the recurring infrastructure problems. Mustafa Billek, a shopkeeper, described the scene as chaotic, with mud and debris covering storefronts and sidewalks. He noted that the local infrastructure is very old and that potholes remain after each repair, leading to ongoing complaints.

Another business owner, Aynur Tarhan, reported arriving to find everything submerged in water and mud, with services cut off. The Adana Water and Sewerage Administration (ASKİ) dispatched teams to drain the water and begin repairs on the damaged pipe.

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The pipe burst at 3 a.m. All the problems are experienced by the shopkeepers here. The front of our workplaces, the sidewalks, and the roads are covered in dust, dirt, and mud.

ASKİ General Manager Mansur Aladağ attributed the burst to the aging infrastructure, explaining that the pipes are 30-40 years old and made of fiberglass-reinforced plastic (CTP), which lacks durability. He stated that the agency is working to replace all CTP pipes in the Adana metropolitan area to prevent future incidents. Aladağ assured that water would be restored by the end of the day after the connection is repaired.

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When we arrived in the morning, everywhere was water and mud. The road had collapsed, the pipe had burst. The water is still cut off, we can't do any of our work.