Ankara –
President Turki Tayyip Erdogan has declared a state of emergency in 10 of the devastated provinces earthquake terrible earth. The quake killed more than 5,100 people and left a trail of devastation across southern Turkey and Syria.
Reported Reuters, Tuesday (7/2/2023), rescue teams working in extreme weather conditions continued to struggle to get people out of the rubble of collapsed buildings. They are racing against time.
Erdogan said the death toll in Turkey had risen to 3,549. In Syria, the death toll stands at more than 1,600, according to the government and rescue services in the rebel-held northwest.
It is predicted that the death toll will continue to increase significantly as the evacuation process continues. A UN official said he feared thousands of children could be killed.
Thousands of buildings collapsed, hospitals and schools were destroyed and tens of thousands of people were injured or made homeless in several Turkish and Syrian cities by the 7.8 magnitude quake – Turkey’s deadliest since 1999 – and a second one an hour later.
The extreme winter weather has also hampered rescue efforts and aid deliveries. This condition makes the situation of the earthquake victims even more sad. Some areas have even run out of fuel and their residents live without electricity.
Aid officials voiced particular concern about the situation in Syria, which has been gripped by a humanitarian crisis after nearly 12 years of civil war. Erdogan declared 10 affected Turkish provinces as disaster zones and imposed a state of emergency on them for 3 months.
These policies allow the government to bypass parliament to enact new laws and to limit or suspend rights and freedoms.
The government plans to open a hotel in the tourism hub of Antalya, to the west, to accommodate people affected by the quake.
Turkish authorities say about 13.5 million people were affected in the region which stretches some 450 km (280 miles) from Adana in the west to Diyarbakir in the east, and 300 km from Malatya in the north to Hatay in the south. Syrian authorities have reported deaths in the southern region of Hama, about 100 km from the epicenter.
“It is now a race against time,” said Director General of the World Health Organization Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in Geneva.
“Every minute, every hour that passes, the chances of finding survivors are decreasing,” he continued.
(haf/aik)
