By Suzan Fraser, GAZIANTEP
Turkey
Rescuers pulled more survivors from beneath the rubble of collapsed buildings Thursday, but hopes were starting to fade of finding many more people alive more than three days after a catastrophic earthquake and series of aftershocks hit Turkey and Syria, killing more than 15,000.
Emergency crews working
through the night in the city of Antakya were able to pull a young girl from
the ruins of a building and also rescued her father alive two hours later, news
agency IHA reported.
In Diyarbakir, east of
Antakya, rescuers freed an injured woman from a collapsed building in the early
morning hours but found the three people next to her in the rubble dead, the
DHA news agency reported.
In addition to 12,391 people killed in Turkey, the country’s disaster management agency said more than 60,000 have been injured. More than 2,900 people have been reported dead on the Syria side of the border.
Tens of thousands are thought
to have lost their homes. In Antakya, former residents of a collapsed building
huddled around an outdoor fire overnight into Thursday, wrapping blankets
tightly around themselves to try and stay warm.
Serap Arslan said many people
remained under the rubble of the nearby building, including her mother and
brother. She said machinery only started to move some of the heavy concrete on
Wednesday.
“We tried to clear it by our
own means, but unfortunately we are very inadequately” prepared for the job,
the 45-year-old said.
Selen Ekimen wiped tears from
her face with gloved hands as she explained that both her parents and brother
were still buried.
There’s been “no sound from
them for days,” she said. “None.”
Experts said the survival window for those trapped under the rubble or otherwise unable to obtain basic necessities was closing rapidly. At the same time, they said it was too soon to abandon hope.
“The first 72 hours are
considered to be critical,” said Steven Godby, a natural hazards expert at
Nottingham Trent University in England. “The survival ratio on average within
24 hours is 74%, after 72 hours it is 22% and by the fifth day it is 6%.”
Two people rescued from Turkey
rubble after 72 hours
Two people have been pulled
alive from the rubble of the earthquake in southeastern Turkey more than 72
hours after the quake struck. (Feb. 9)
Turkey’s President Recep
Tayyip Erdogan visited the hard-hit province of Hatay on Wednesday, where
residents have criticized the government’s efforts, saying rescuers were slow
to arrive.
According to the disaster
management agency, more than 110,000 rescue personnel were now taking part in
the effort and more than 5,500 vehicles, including tractors, cranes, bulldozers
and excavators had been shipped.
The task is monumental, however, with thousands of buildings toppled by the earthquake.
Erdogan, who faces a tough
battle for reelection in May, acknowledged problems with the emergency response
to Monday’s 7.8-magnitude quake, but said the winter weather had been a factor.
The earthquake also destroyed the runway at Hatay’s airport, further disrupting
the response.
“It is not possible to be
prepared for such a disaster,” Erdogan said. “We will not leave any of our
citizens uncared for.” He also hit back at critics, saying “dishonorable
people” were spreading “lies and slander” about the government’s actions.
The disaster comes at a sensitive time for Erdogan, who faces an economic downturn and high inflation. Perceptions that his government mismanaged the crisis could hurt his standing. He said the government would distribute 10,000 Turkish lira ($532) to affected families.
Teams from more
than two dozen countries have joined the local emergency personnel in
the effort. But the scale
of destruction from the quake and its powerful aftershocks was so
immense and spread over such a wide area that many people were still awaiting
help.
The region was already beset by more than a decade of civil war in Syria. Millions have been displaced within Syria itself, and millions more have sought refuge in Turkey.
In Syria, aid efforts have
been hampered by the ongoing war and the isolation of the rebel-held region
along the border, which is surrounded by Russia-backed government forces. Syria
itself is an international pariah under Western sanctions linked to the war.
The earthquake’s toll has
already outstripped that of a 7.8-magnitude quake in Nepal in 2015, when 8,800
died. A 2011 earthquake in Japan triggered a tsunami, killing nearly 20,000
people.
No comments:
Post a Comment