Ankara, Sep 10 (Xinhua) Thirty-one people have been killed in flash floods caused by heavy rains in northwest Turkey, the Anatolia news agency reported Wednesday citing Turkish prime minister.

Twenty-six people were killed in Istanbul province, while five people were killed in Tekirdag province, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan told reporters. Nine other people were missing.

Erdogan offered condolences to the relatives of the victims.

Search operations were continuing for the missing people.

The prime minister has allocated two million Turkish liras (about $1.35 million) for disaster relief in Istanbul province and 250,000 liras for the Tekirdag province.

Search and rescue efforts as well as damage assessment were under way in areas worst hit by floods with the help of six helicopters and 35 boats.

A total of 1,600 homes and business facilities were destroyed in floods after heavy rains hit the region Monday.