Turkey and Syria After Deadly Earthquake Claims 4,000 Lives
 |
| Image source - https://apnews.com/ |
Rescue efforts are underway in Turkey and Syria after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck the region on Monday, killing over 4,000 people and leaving tens of thousands homeless. The earthquake struck in the pre-dawn hours and was felt in cities as far away as Damascus, Beirut, and Cairo. In Turkey, the city of Adana saw entire apartment buildings crumble, with families searching for missing loved ones. In Syria, the quake added to the misery of a region that has already suffered greatly from the 12-year-long civil war and the refugee crisis. The earthquake's epicenter was in the southeastern province of Kahramanmaras in Turkey, and the seismic activity continued to rattle the region, including another strong aftershock.
The quake has caused widespread destruction, with rescue workers struggling to navigate through mountains of rubble, braving rain and snow, to search for survivors. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared seven days of national mourning and U.S. President Joe Biden called to offer condolences and assistance. The White House stated that it would be sending search-and-rescue teams to support the efforts in Turkey. The tens of thousands of people left homeless are spending the night in makeshift shelters, such as shopping malls, stadiums, mosques, and community centers.
In the rebel-held enclave in Syria, hundreds of families remain trapped in the rubble, according to the opposition emergency organization known as the White Helmets. The area is home to 4 million displaced people, many of whom live in buildings that have already been damaged by military bombardment. The earthquake has added a new layer of distress to a region that has already seen much suffering.
Medical centers were quickly overwhelmed with injured individuals following the devastating earthquake in Turkey and Syria, according to rescue workers. The SAMS medical organization reported that some facilities, including a maternity hospital, had to be emptied.
Over 7,800 people have been rescued across 10 provinces, according to Orhan Tatar, a representative from Turkey’s disaster management authority. The region is situated on major fault lines and frequently experiences earthquakes. In 1999, a similarly powerful quake in northwest Turkey claimed the lives of 18,000 people.
The U.S. Geological Survey recorded Monday's quake as a 7.8 magnitude, with a depth of 18 kilometers (11 miles). Hours later, a 7.5 magnitude aftershock, believed to have been caused by the initial quake, struck approximately 100 kilometers (60 miles) away.
In the Turkish city of Sanliurfa, the second jolt led to a multi-story apartment building collapsing onto the street in a cloud of dust, as onlookers screamed, according to footage of the incident.
The devastating earthquake that struck the region between Syria's cities of Aleppo and Hama and Turkey's city of Diyarbakir, over 200 miles apart, caused the collapse of thousands of buildings. In Turkey alone, over 5,600 structures were destroyed and hospitals were severely damaged, including one that completely fell in the city of Iskenderun. The low temperatures could limit the window of time for rescue workers to save people trapped in the rubble. The situation is made even more challenging by the ongoing civil war in the area, adding to the difficulty of rescue efforts. Despite this, numerous countries and organizations, including the European Union and NATO, have offered support in the form of search-and-rescue teams, medical supplies, and financial aid. Most of the offers were for Turkey, with only Russia and Israel promising aid to the Syrian government. It is still unclear if any support will reach the rebel-held Idlib province, which is already in dire straits and heavily reliant on aid from Turkey. According to the U.N., at least 224 buildings were destroyed and 325 were damaged in the province, potentially disrupting the U.N.'s monthly aid deliveries to 2.7 million people.
In the aftermath of the earthquake, there were reports of many buildings collapsing, ranging from Syria's Aleppo and Hama to Turkey's Diyarbakir, over 200 miles away. In Turkey, over 5,600 buildings were destroyed, including hospitals. The rescue efforts were further hindered by the cold temperatures and the ongoing civil war. Aid was offered from various countries, however, most of it was directed to Turkey and it was uncertain if any would reach the opposition-held areas in northwest Syria. In Idlib, a resident reported that most of his neighbors died when their building collapsed. Rescuers pulled survivors from the rubble in various cities, including two children in Kahramanmaras, a woman in Gaziantep and others in Adana. In Diyarbakir, hundreds of rescue workers and citizens worked together to search for survivors. According to Turkish authorities, over 2,921 people were killed and nearly 16,000 injured. In Syria, the death toll in government-held areas reached 656 with 1,400 injured, and in the northwest, at least 450 people were reported dead. A legislator from Hatay province in Turkey stated that several of his family members were trapped under the rubble and that there were many others in a similar situation.
Post a Comment