Causes of the 1998 Bartin river flood in Western Black Sea region of Turkey

A vast flood in the Western Black Sea region of Turkey in May 1998 caused great loss of life and significant damage. Communication network, transportation, and construction cost of the disaster was estimated around US $500 million. Since flood area was relatively large, only Bartin river watershed were analysed and investigated within the scope of this study. It is very common having intense summer showers, which results in floods and landslides in the region. Land use changes in Turkey are rapid; therefore, actual land use format and its recent change were determined using remote sensing. Geographic Information System (GIS) was employed to evaluate the data collected in the area. Prolonged rainfall on saturated soil by antecedent rainfall,misuse of land both in upper and lower watersheds are main reasons affecting the formation of such a flood in Bartin river watershed.