Turkey and Syria witnessed an earthquake of 7.8 magnitude. Within a few seconds, many buildings collapsed. The death toll has crossed 100 and is still mounting. World leaders are standing in solidarity and sending help.
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Nothing like this has ever happened in the last 40 years
A few hours ago, an earthquake of 7.8 magnitude hit Turkey and Syria. This is a developing story but for now, more than 100 deaths have been registered while many are still struggling for their lives under collapsed buildings. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was the first to send rescue and search teams to the areas hit by the earthquake. He tweeted and said, “We hope that we will get through this disaster together as soon as possible and with the least damage.”
Syria has described the situation as ‘disastrous’. The Civil Defence Team known as the White Helmets asked people to evacuate buildings and gather in open areas. Initially, both countries reported a death toll of 11-15 people but soon it began to rise and has now crossed 100.
The epicentre of the earthquake is Gaziantep, in South Turkey. Gaziantep falls very close to Northern Syria. Both countries claim that they have witnessed nothing like this in the past 40 years.
“I have never felt anything like it in the 40 years I’ve lived,” said Erdem, a citizen of Gaziantep. “We were shaken at least three times very strongly, like a baby in a crib.” It was still too dark to see the nature of the damage, he added. “Everybody is sitting in their cars, or trying to drive to open spaces away from buildings, I imagine not a single person in Gaziantep is in their homes now,” he said.
The tremor lasted a minute and affected ten cities in Turkey but its tremors were also felt in Syria, Cyprus and Lebanon. In the last 4 hours death toll has reached 237 with 639 injured and the toll is still mounting.
Turkey increases its alarm level, and Syria declares an emergency.
The bad weather in Turkey is creating problems for the rescue teams. It is becoming difficult to reach the affected areas. The wind, rain and snow along with the earthquake and resulted in cancelling of flights from Istanbul and Ankara to eastern Turkey. The weather is making it difficult for people to gather outside in open areas to save themselves.
Turkish interior minister Suleyman Soylu is urging civilians to reduce their mobile phone activities and also to not spread any false, scary or misleading information on social media. The Turkish president has deployed various governors and ministers to the affected areas along with the rescue team. The Turkish government has increased their alarm level to four to acquire international assistance.
The Syrian Civil Defence has imposed a state of emergency in northwestern Syria following the disaster and appealed for international humanitarian assistance.
“The earthquake has resulted in hundreds of injuries, dozens of deaths, and people being stranded in the winter cold. Adverse weather conditions, including low temperatures and stormy weather, have compounded the dire situation,” White Helmets, said in a statement.
The White Helmets have also asked the international community to put pressure on the Assad regime so that they do not bomb the affected areas to make the situation worse. The Syrian health ministry has reported more than 100 deaths in the government-held part of Syria.
“639 injuries and 237 deaths recorded in the provinces of Aleppo, Latakia, Hama and Tartus,” the ministry said in a statement. The affected part of Syria is divided between the region held by the Assad government and the opposition government.
International Assistance coming to Turkey and Syria
The international community is in shock after seeing the condition of Turkey and Syria. They are ready to send immediate help. The United State of America (USA), Ukraine, India and France were the first to provide help.
“France is ready to provide emergency relief to the populations on the ground. Our thoughts are with the bereaved families,” said the French president, Emmanuel Macron. Although the relations between France and Turkey have been hostile for a long time, it was one of the first states to send help.
European Union is sending their rescue teams to help find people. EU’s Emergency Response Coordination Centre overseeing their deployment, commissioner Janez Lenarcic tweeted, “Teams from the Netherlands and Romania are already on their way.”
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has claimed that his country is ready to provide necessary assistance to the Turkish people. The White House has directed government agencies to provide help in the most affected regions. President Joe Biden said that the US is ready to provide any and all help to Turkey.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a statement and said, “India stands in solidarity with the people of Turkey and is ready to offer all possible assistance to cope with this tragedy. ”
Vladimir Putin, the Russian President has offered aid to both Turkey and Syria. Putin has maintained allies with both countries.
He said, “Please accept my deep condolences on the numerous human casualties and large-scale destruction caused by a powerful earthquake in your country,” Putin said in his message to Erdogan. For Syria, Putin told Assad that Russia shared “the sadness and pain of those who lost their loved ones.”
Infrastructural Damage in Turkey and Syria
While no damage was encountered by the Turkish pipeline operations at the Ceyhan oil terminal in southern Turkey were suspended and an emergency meeting is called. More than 1000 buildings have collapsed in Turkey. The actual number is said to be 1,718.
Civilians are helping the rescue team to find people who might have been trapped under the rubble of collapsed buildings. They are digging by hand, report media houses. The rescue teams are also overwhelmed by the scale of destruction in Turkey and Syria. The aftermath of the natural disaster is said will be felt for the coming months.
