People and rescue workers rescue a person from a collapsed building.
(Photo: dpa)
Istanbul At least 2,300 people have been killed in Turkey and Syria as a result of the strong earthquakes. The Turkish civil protection announced on Monday evening that more than 1,500 people had fallen victim to the earthquake in the south-east of the country.
In Syria, the death toll rose to more than 850, according to the Ministry of Health and the rescue organization White Helmets. More than 2,300 people were injured in the disaster in the civil war country. According to current knowledge, around 10,000 people have been injured in Turkey.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan addressed the population in a televised speech on Monday. “Since the removal of rubble from many buildings in the earthquake area is still ongoing, we do not know what the number of dead and injured will be,” said the Turkish president.
A 7.7 magnitude earthquake caused severe shaking in southern Turkey and northern Syria early Monday morning (local time). On both sides of the border, residents were woken up by the first tremor several hours before sunrise and rushed outside on a cold and rainy winter night. During several aftershocks, including one with a magnitude of 7.5, numerous television cameras were running and recorded live as houses collapsed.
The shockwaves were felt across Turkey and as far afield as the Balkans and Israel. Regional airports in the cities of Kahramanmaras, Gaziantep and Hatay have been closed, as have numerous roads in the area that have been destroyed. A 1,600-year-old castle in the city of Gaziantep was partially destroyed.
Further earthquakes, cold and snow complicate the relief and search operations. Turkey asked its NATO partners for three field hospitals suitable for extreme weather conditions.
According to video recordings, numerous buildings have also collapsed in Syria, and there has also been destruction in refugee camps near the Turkish border. According to unconfirmed information, 250 buildings and 400 houses have collapsed in the north of Aleppo alone. In the rebel stronghold of Idlib, drone images show that entire settlements have been razed to the ground. Other videos show houses collapsing as a result of the aftershocks.
calls for help on social media
Many Turkish people who were still lying under the rubble of their collapsed houses sought help via Twitter. “There are six of us and we don’t know when the debris will collapse around us,” wrote a woman from the town of Kahramanmaras, near the epicenter. Another victim wrote: “I’m trapped under rubble, bleeding and passing out. If nobody helps me, I will die.”
Turkey has received offers of help from more than 45 countries. Among other things, rescue teams, paramedics and reconstruction workers from Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, France, Azerbaijan, Lebanon, England and Hungary flew to the south-east of the country.
The tremors in the Turkish-Syrian border area have destroyed countless buildings.
(Photo: AP)
Germany will also help in northern Syria through aid organizations such as Malteser International, the Federal Foreign Office said. A crisis team is to meet in the afternoon to coordinate German aid. “We will set in motion all the help that we can activate,” said Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser. Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock made similar statements.
The US offered “any help needed.” Countries with which Turkey in particular is at odds also offered support. Old conflicts could thus be softened. Despite severe tensions with Ankara, Greece agreed to send rescue teams to the earthquake area.
The earthquakes were the strongest tremors in the region in decades.
(Photo: AP)
The two NATO members had already helped each other in severe earthquakes in 1999. This aid, known as “earthquake diplomacy”, ushered in a phase of détente. Finland and Sweden also announced help despite the Turkish blockade of their NATO applications. Israel wants to help Turkey and Syria.
Russia had pledged aid to both countries on Monday. In the coming hours, rescue workers from the Russian civil defense are to be flown to Syria, the Kremlin said. The Turkish head of state Erdogan also wants to accept Russian help, according to the Kremlin.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi sent messages of condolence on Monday, state news agency IRNA reported. Tehran is ready to provide immediate assistance. Along with Russia, Iran is the most important ally of Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad in the civil war.
Syria conflict complicates aid
One of the areas hardest hit by the earthquake on Monday night was the Syrian region of Idlib, which is held by rebels. According to observers, this should make emergency aid more difficult there. Just a few months ago, the governments in Ankara and Damascus announced that they were negotiating an end to the diplomatic ice age.
A common fate could now bring the two countries together. In northern Syria, the Turkish government has long been fighting for a buffer zone and financial support for the resettlement of refugees. International donors have struggled to transfer money to rebel-held areas.
Dozens of states have announced that they will send relief teams to the affected areas.
(Photo: AP)
Turkey is repeatedly affected by severe earthquakes. Two of the largest continental plates meet there: the African and the Eurasian. In fact, most of the Turkish population lives in constant danger of earthquakes.
Scholz on the earthquake: “We suffer with you”
In October 2020, more than 100 people died in Izmir in one of the most serious earthquakes in recent years. In 1999, Turkey was hit by one of the worst natural disasters in its history: a magnitude 7.4 earthquake in the region around the north-western industrial city of Izmit claimed the lives of more than 17,000 people. Experts are also expecting a strong earthquake in Turkey’s largest city, Istanbul, in the near future.
With material from dpa and Reuters.
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