Life for millions across Türkiye changed forever on Monday, as a pair of earthquakes nine hours apart with magnitudes of 7.7 and 7.6 rocked its southern region, marking the ‘disaster of the century’
After 14 hours of recovery efforts, a young woman was pulled from the wreckage, 96 hours after the earthquake, Hatay, Türkiye, Feb. 10, 2023. (AA Photo)
It was a Monday, 4.17 a.m. (1:17 a.m. GMT) when one of the deadliest disasters of the world hit the southeastern region of Türkiye and northern Syria, which President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has termed the “disaster of the century.”
The first quake of 7.7 magnitude was centered in the Pazarcık district, followed by a 6.4 magnitude quake that struck southeastern Gaziantep province; while a third earthquake of 6.5 magnitude also hit Gaziantep. The disaster that shook the nation of 85 million was still fresh when another earthquake of 7.6 magnitude struck Kahramanmaraş province in central Türkiye.
The quakes flattened buildings of all kinds and killed thousands of people across southern Türkiye and northern Syria.
It is the fifth day of search and rescue where rescuers are still scrambling through rubble for survivors, but hopes are fading as it has been more than four days since the deadly quakes.
Tens of thousands of people have spent a freezing fourth night in makeshift shelters, after losing their homes. At least 18,342 people are dead and 74,242 others injured as of Friday.
Over 13 million people reside across 10 provinces, including Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakır, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye and Şanlıurfa. Several countries in the region, including Syria and Lebanon, felt the strong tremors that struck Türkiye in the space of fewer than 10 hours.
More than 120,344 search and rescue personnel are currently working on the ground, according to the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD).
A total of 30,360 people were evacuated from quake-hit regions, the AFAD said in a statement.
Speaking in Kilis, Erdoğan said on Thursday that a total of 6,444 buildings had collapsed in the quake zone.
Vice President Fuat Oktay, while speaking in Parliament, said that, “The earthquake affected an area of approximately 110,000 square kilometers (about 42,471 square miles). This is equal to or greater than the area of many countries in Europe.
He added, “This earthquake is the third-largest to occur since the 1668 Great Anatolia earthquake and the 1939 Erzincan earthquake in the last 2,000 years in Anatolia.”
A total of 97,973 family tents have been set up to shelter survivors and rescue teams, blankets, tents, food and psychological support teams were also sent to the affected areas, the AFAD said.
In addition, 10,363 vehicles, including excavators, tractors and bulldozers, were dispatched to the disaster area. Teams in Şanlıurfa and Kilis completed their search operations and have been redirected to other provinces, the AFAD added.
President Erdoğan on Wednesday inspected the ongoing search and rescue efforts as well as relief efforts in the provinces of Adana, Hatay and Kahramanmaraş provinces and the epicenter, Pazarcık, where he met survivors in tent cities.
A three-month state of emergency to speed up rescue and aid efforts in Türkiye’s quake-hit provinces entered into force on Thursday. While Türkiye is observing seven days of national mourning after the devastating quakes.
State and public unite to help
“The state and the people, hand-in-hand, will overcome this disaster. Together we will continue to recover,” Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Minister Murat Kurum said during his visit to the Şatırhöyük and Sakçagöz districts, Nurdağı and İslahiye districts in Gaziantep on Thursday.
Conveying Erdoğan’s condolences, Kurum said: “Humanitarian aid work is continuing; our rescue teams have reached the inaccessible villages with five helicopters. The needs of all villages are being met simultaneously, while search and rescue activities are in full swing with 16,900 personnel without interruption, and will continue.
“So far, the 15,350 tents have been erected and planning for additional 25,000 tents continues. The container installation process has also started in the designated areas in Islahiye and Nurdağı.
“So far, we have determined that 122,141 buildings and 66,058 independent sections throughout the affected were destroyed or heavily damaged. In Gaziantep, 4,475 buildings, 12,423 houses, residences and workplaces were found to be heavily damaged or destroyed.
“With state-backed housing agency TOKİ (the Housing Development Administration), we will build one-floor, 105-square-meter, three-plus-one houses for our brothers and sisters affected by the disaster, in Çadırhöyük Village, Nurdağı and Islahiye, as we did after previous disasters.
“We will start providing partial electricity today with generators and will follow up with water supplies. Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality toilets will be repaired, and we shall also cater to the needs of animals,” said Kurum.
He noted that damage assessment work has already been completed.
