When one goes on vacation, one expects that their trip will go one of two ways. Either the vacation will involve lovely weather and sandy beaches or it will involve delicious dining and immersive cultural experience. What they don’t expect, however, is a tornado.
When a number of anxious tourists stepped into Turkey’s Antalya Airport, they never expected that the extreme weather conditions they had been warned about in the days beforehand would be anything like the chaos they were about to be embroiled in…
Vacation Hotspot
Many people don’t think of Turkey when they think of vacation “hot spots,” but recent years have seen a pretty steady rise in tourism in the region. Much of this is due to the surprising number of seaside resorts in the region, but the rest of this unexpected boom in the tourist trade can be attributed to the collapse of Turkey’s form of currency, the lira.
Stretching Funds
The lira’s value plummeted in 2018, which meant that anyone looking to travel to the region, be they Americans or Britons, can make their funds stretch much farther than they would have before. Thus, many decided to shift their vacation plans towards the Mediterranean destination…
Something in the Distance
Excited tourists piled into Turkey’s Antalya Airport, which resides in the south of the country, closest to the Mediterranean. As they made their way through security and began the process of waiting to board, something began to form in the distant sky. A rather severe storm was moving in.
Unusual Occurrence
Turkey isn’t exactly known for its tornadoes, most of them that have hit that area of the world struck out at sea rather than on land. Nevertheless, a rash of storms had devastated the region at the time. The southern province of Antalya, where the airport is located, has been the most affected.
Video Clip 1
This clip illustrates exactly what the people inside the Turkish airport were seeing. The sky grows dark and the passengers can clearly see the formation of a vortex increase with each lowering octave of light. We can see the tornado slowly making its way to earth.
Tornadoes
Tornadoes form when a rapidly rotating column of air is in contact with both the surface of the Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud. They are colloquially referred to as twisters and generally happen more inland. This is opposed to hurricanes, which tend to be more coastal. The tornadoes hitting Turkey, however, were happening right by the Mediterranean.
Pick Up Your Phone
As passengers stood inside Antalya Airport, waiting for the storm to dissipate, they did the only thing they could, they took out their phones and began to take video of the ensuing incident. Little did they know that the approaching cyclone would soon become far less entertaining and far more terrifying.
Safe Inside
Those passengers who were still inside the airport were safe of course, or safer than those who were either already on their planes or traveling out on the tarmac. Airports are, by nature of their function, pretty devoid of cover, so they offer very little in the way of protection from strong winds and twisters in particular.
Hurled About
The waiting passengers watched in horror as two sets of airstairs were toppled over from the high winds. Rain pelted the roof, thundering across every surface in the wake of the ensuing tornado. Meanwhile, pieces of vehicles, scraps of buildings, and all manner of debris began to fly across the airport, hurled about by the twister’s shifting winds.
Video Clip 2
As the tornado made its way onto the runway, the man taking video begins to notice the planes around him quake and shudder in its path. The strengthening storm seems to be headed right for them and as it passes, the planes on its right and left move away from its path. They moved softly at first, then violently lurch aside.
Three Planes
Video footage from the waiting passengers captured the moment that the vortex began moving down the runway. It captured the tornado moving past the three planes then, as it approached the fourth one, it began to move the plane forward slightly. Despite the plane’s size and weight, the tornado pushed it effortlessly.
Speaking Out
Eventually, the tornado moved past the airport and dissipated. It left Antalya Airport with only a few casualties but hundreds of thousands in potential damages. Antalya province governor, Münir Karaloğlu, spoke out about the storm and mentioned the twelve individuals who were wounded while trying to board their plane.
Injuries
This video shows the tornado move towards a bus full of people and the harrowing moment that the storm hits the bus, knocking it over onto its side. Twelve of the passengers on that bus were injured when it tipped over but were quickly tended to after the timely arrival of the local paramedics. None of them are in critical condition.
Football Delays
A team of Polish soccer players, who had been at the airport during the tornado, were left waiting more than six hours to return to Poland. They had been in Belek for a winter camp and some of the players even contributed to the video footage as they waited for the storm to calm down.
Video Part 3
The videographer can hear the storm raging and the sound of the shuddering metal on the planes around him as he takes cover from the tornado. We can’t see the bus tip from his angle or even see the planes shift, but we can hear the vortex as it moves quickly through the airport.
Football Commentary
Szczecin midfielder Michal Zyro shared a video of the scene. His caption read, “Damaged runway, lights, and a bus with passengers’ luggage.” His team’s spokesperson added, “Due to the bad weather, the flight from Turkey is being delayed, there is a storm at the moment and for some time none of the planes have taken off.”
Much Damage
Those who did not get a chance to see the raging tornado itself could still see the waters around the airport raging violently as the tornado battered the coastline and highways. All told, the damage included two planes, two buses, two minibusses, two airstairs, a police helicopter, and of course the twelve passengers.
Cleaning Up
Despite the damage, the Turkish authorities were on the ground pretty quickly, cleaning up the airport and reinstating processes so that no more delays would inhibit anyone’s travel plans. Münir Karaloğlu spoke to reporters about his experience. Like many Turkish citizens, he hopes that the worst is over, but the rash of recent tornadoes make things hard to predict.
Damage Across Turkey
Since the tornadoes began, a total of 229 buildings have sustained damage. Not only is it unsettling, but it’s also indicative of some of the more serious side effects of climate change. It’s hard to say whether all of the damage can be laid at the feet of climate change, but the statistics are pretty indicative of a worrying trend.
Video Part 4
All told, the damage to the airport included two planes, two buses, two minibusses, two airstairs, a police helicopter, and twelve injured but living passengers. Nevertheless, we still manage to get a glimpse of the storm recedes into the sky. As quickly as it came, it went, leaving only fear and damage in its wake.
