Turkey is complying with seven days of national mourning after the series of earthquakes that brought destruction and death to the south of the country, as well as neighboring Syria. , 01.17 in mainland Portugal near the town of Gaziantep, about 60 kilometers from the border with Syria, felt in Cyprus and Egypt.
Nine hours later, among more than 150 aftershocks, at least 55 of which were magnitude 4.3 or greater, there was another strong earthquake, this time magnitude 7.5. At the close of the edition, the governments of the two countries counted more than 3,500 dead and 14,500 injured, although, as the World Health Organization warned, the final number could be multiplied by eight. Ankara also had 2834 collapsed buildings.
Geologically, the region lies on the boundary of three tectonic plates: the Arabian Plate in the south, the Eurasian Plate in the north, and the Anatolian Plate in the center, on which the vast majority of Turkey’s territory lies. Also in the Turkish subsurface passes the northern Anatolian fault line, which runs from Iraq to the Aegean Sea and passes through Istanbul, and the eastern Anatolian fault line.
In other words, the Turks have both feet in active seismic zones, or at least 70% of the territory, according to a report from the Disasters and Emergencies Authority. In 120 years, 18 earthquakes with magnitudes greater than 7 on the Richter scale have been recorded. One of them, in 1939, also of magnitude 7.8, hit Erzincan, causing more than 32,000 casualties.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan alluded to this quake when he said the country was rocked by “the greatest tragedy” since the Erzincan earthquake. A statement that may not be confirmed by the facts – in 1999 the Izmit earthquake claimed more than 17 thousand people – but it can be justified by emotion or, from a more cynical point of view, by political calculation. Elections are three months away and the president’s popularity has seen better days, so the response to a national unrest may be a balm for the man who led Turkey to a conservative and authoritarian line. A line that led him to confront Greece, a NATO ally, again and again and cut ties with his former Syrian friend Bashar al-Assad only to rekindle them now.
From Athens, the reaction was as expected: Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis promised to make “all available troops” available to help his historic rival after being hit by the earthquake. The conservative leader said Ankara had approved the deployment of a Greek emergency rescue team, adding that Athens was ready to send “additional equipment, medical supplies, blankets, tents” depending on other Turkish requests. It was later revealed that he had spoken with Erdogan after offering “immediate assistance”, which resulted in him sending a C-130 plane, carrying rescuers and equipment, on a mission led by the head of Greece’s civil defense.
In recent months, Erdogan has threatened Greece with invasion in a war of words over territorial rights and oil exploration in the Aegean Sea. However, the two countries have a history of joint cooperation in the aftermath of earthquakes.
Aid with rescuers and humanitarian materials was promised by several countries of the European Union, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Ukraine and Russia, India, Japan, as well as Qatar, Emirates, Iran and Israel. A team of search and rescue specialists departed from Tel Aviv for Turkey on Monday and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had authorized aid to be sent to Syria following a “request from diplomatic source for humanitarian aid to Syria”, but Damascus denied it. . “How can Syria ask for help from an entity that has been killing Syrians for decades?” a Syrian official told reporters.
Damascus does not recognize Israel and the two countries have fought several wars. However, the region most affected by the earthquake is not entirely under the control of Assad’s government, but of the Islamist movement Tahrir al-Sham or of the Syrian Democratic Forces, the Kurdish movement that fought the Islamic State.
The Assad regime, which called on UN member states and the International Committee of the Red Cross and other humanitarian groups to help “address the devastating earthquake”, received an appeal from Amnesty International in response that “the Syrian government and Russian forces immediately stop attacks against civilians” and allow aid to reach all areas without restrictions.
Worse than grenades and bullets
In Aleppo, which came under government control after fierce fighting in 2016, an AFP reporter heard Anas Habbash, 37, testify that as soon as he felt the tremor, he “ran madly down the stairs”, carrying his son and taking the pregnant woman with him . from the apartment building. “As soon as we reached the street, we saw dozens of families in shock and fear.” Some knelt down to pray and others began to cry “as if it were doomsday”. He continued: “I haven’t had that feeling in all those war years. This was much harder than shells and bullets.”
The ten deadliest earthquakes of the century
316 000 dead
Scope 7
Haiti
January 12, 2010
With its epicenter 15 miles southwest of the capital Port-au-Prince, the quake was a disaster for an already poor country marked by hurricanes and tropical storms. In addition to the death toll, a million Haitians were left homeless.
227,000
Scope 9.1
Indonesia
December 26, 2004
The violent earthquake, which occurred off the island of Sumatra, triggered a tsunami that hit several countries in addition to Indonesia, such as Sri Lanka, India, Thailand, Burma or the Maldives. Human disasters were compounded by environmental and economic destruction.
87 600
Magnitude 7.9
China
May 12, 2008
The earthquake in Sichuan province was followed by dozens of aftershocks that then triggered landslides in record numbers. At least 4.8 million people became homeless.
87 350
Scope 7.6
Pakistan October 8, 2005
With its epicenter in the Pakistan-controlled region of Kashmir, the quake knew no boundaries and also devastated the Indian-controlled region and even Afghanistan. According to Islamabad, 19,000 children died.
31,000
Scope 6.6
Iran
December 26, 2003
The earthquake, whose epicenter was ten kilometers from the historic city of Bam in southeastern Iran, leveled the adobe citadel and about 70% of the modern city’s buildings and infrastructure.
20,000
Scope 7.6
India
January 26, 2001
The earthquake had its epicenter in the Kutch district, in the state of Gujarat, in southwestern India. The worst hit city was Bhuj, but the effects were also felt in neighboring Pakistan.
15 690
Scope 9.0
Japan
March 11, 2011
The earthquake that struck northeastern Japan had an epicenter 70 kilometers from the coast and the ensuing tsunami – which reached 40 meters in waves – caused disaster at the Fukushima nuclear power plant.
9 000
Magnitude 7.8
Nepal
April 25, 2015
The earthquake, which originated 85 kilometers northwest of Kathmandu, also triggered destructive avalanches, as did another magnitude 7.3 earthquake three weeks later, killing more than 200 people.
5 700
Scope 6.4
Indonesia
May 27, 2006
The crash occurred 20 kilometers from Yogyakarta on the island of Java. In addition to more than 150,000 homes destroyed, the 9th-century Hindu temple of Prambanan, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was also damaged.
4 300
Size 7.5
Indonesia
September 28, 2018
Also in Indonesia, but on the island of Celebes, the earthquake was preceded by a series of weaker tremors and triggered a tsunami and the largest recorded phenomenon of soil liquefaction.
Source: DN
