Nurdagi (Turkey): The death toll from the devastating 7.8-magnitude earthquake and aftershocks that struck Turkey and Syria has climbed past 8000, as more bodies were recovered from collapsed buildings. The death toll due to the earthquake is expected to increase further. Rescue workers are working to find survivors in the rubble of thousands of buildings. Countries around the world have sent teams to help with rescue and relief operations.
Turkey’s disaster management agency said more than 24,400 emergency workers were on the scene. But their efforts are proving to be little, with Monday’s massive earthquake affecting a large area and nearly 6,000 buildings confirmed to have collapsed in Turkey alone.
Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay said that in Turkey alone, more than 8,000 people have been evacuated from the rubble of buildings and some 380,000 have taken shelter in government shelters or hotels. Efforts to reach survivors have also been hampered by sub-zero temperatures and aftershocks of nearly 200 earthquakes, making it extremely dangerous to search for people inside the unstable structures.
Nurgul Atay told ‘The Associated Press’ said that she could hear her mother’s voice buried under the rubble of the collapsed building in Antakya, the capital of Hatay province, but her and others’ efforts to enter the rubble were in vain due to a lack of rescue workers and heavy equipment.
He said that his mother was 70 years old and was not able to fight for much longer. Nearly 1,500 buildings were razed to the ground in Hatay, southeast of the quake’s epicenter, and many people complained of their families being trapped under the rubble with no rescue teams or help arriving, officials said.
The earthquake, centered in Turkey’s southeastern province of Kahnemaras, forced residents of Damascus and Beirut to take to the streets. Doctors Without Borders’ in Syria UN chief of mission Sebastian Gay said medical workers in northern Syria were working “round the clock” to treat the huge number of wounded.
Thousands of people took shelter in sports centers or fair halls in Turkey’s Hatay province, while others spent the night outside and resorted to bonfires. Thick black smoke billowed from an area of Iskenderun port where firefighters have not yet been able to extinguish the blaze. The fire broke out in a shipping container that overturned due to the earthquake. Officials fear that the death toll from the earthquake and aftershocks that struck early Monday could rise, as rescuers continued to search for people trapped under the rubble on Tuesday.
Rescue workers are facing a lot of trouble due to low temperature and about 200 aftershocks were felt. In the latest pledge of international aid, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol said he was preparing to rapidly dispatch a 60-member rescue team as well as medical supplies and 50 soldiers. The government of Pakistan sent relief materials and a 50-member search and rescue team to Turkey in the early hours of Tuesday. Pakistan said there would be daily aid flights to Syria and Turkey from Wednesday.
India said it would specially send two search and rescue teams including dog squads and medical personnel. According to a statement from Islamabad, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will travel to Ankara on Wednesday to express his condolences and solidarity. US President Joe Biden spoke on the phone with Erdoğan to offer his condolences and assistance to the people of Turkey, a NATO ally.
The White House, the US presidential palace, said it was sending search and rescue teams to help Turkey’s efforts. Thousands of buildings were reported to have collapsed in an area spanning more than 330 km between the Syrian city of Aleppo and the Turkish city of Diyarbakir. “US Geological Survey” The magnitude of Monday’s earthquake was measured at 7.8 with its epicenter 18 km below the ground. Perhaps the first earthquake triggered a second earthquake 100 km away with a magnitude of 7.5 on the Richter scale.
1,80,000 people feared trapped under debris in earthquake – seismologist
Seismologists say more than 180,000 are trapped under the rubble, most of them expected to die. Seismologist Ovgun Ahmet Erkan spoke to news outlet The Economist and said he estimated that 180,000 or more people could be trapped under the rubble and most of them are dead.
America sent help to Turkey
After the earthquake in Turkey, the United States has announced that it will send two rescue teams to help NATO ally Turkey, which will arrive on Wednesday. He said that two teams of 158 personnel would arrive by two C-130 transport aircraft. Along with them, 12 dogs and 170,000 pounds (77,100 kg) of special equipment will also be sent.
China sent help to Turkey
An earthquake rescue team sent by the Chinese government arrived at Turkey’s Adana airport in the early hours of Wednesday. State broadcaster CCTV reported on Wednesday. According to CCTV, the team consisted of 82 members. Also 20 tonnes of medical and other rescue material and equipment have been sent. plus four search and rescue dogshave also been brought.
