more than 6,200 dead after a second powerful quake

More than 6,2000 people were killed in southern Turkey and neighboring Syria by a powerful earthquake of magnitude 7.8, followed a few hours later by a very strong aftershock of magnitude 7.5, tremors recorded as far as Greenland. This assessment, very provisional, should increase, a very large number of people remaining trapped under the rubble. The snow, which is falling in abundance and the drop in temperatures, expected in the evening and tomorrow, will make the situation of people finding themselves homeless, as well as the work of the relief workers, even more difficult.

Two jerks

The first tremor occurred at 4:17 a.m. local time (1:17 a.m. GMT), in the district of Pazarcik, in the province of Kahramanmaras (southeast), about 60 km as the crow flies from the Syrian border. Dozens of aftershocks followed, before a new earthquake of magnitude 7.5, at 10:24 GMT, still in southeastern Turkey, 4 km southeast of the town of Ekinozu.

At least 1,712 people died in the earthquake that struck Syria on Monday and whose epicenter is in neighboring Turkey, according to a latest assessment based on figures provided by the Ministry of Health and rescue workers. According to a statement from the Ministry of Health, 570 people were killed and 1,403 injured in areas under government control in the provinces of Aleppo, Latakia, Hama and Tartous. In areas under the control of rebel groups in the northwest, at least 430 people were killed and more than 1,050 injured, according to rescuers.

In Turkey, at least 4,544 people were killed and at least 11,159 injured, in seven different provinces, according to data provided by the government agency for disaster management (Afad). Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who reported 3,471 collapsed buildings.

Turkey’s biggest earthquake since 1999

The balance sheet is likely to change rapidly given the number of collapsed buildings in the cities affected, such as Adana, Gaziantep, Sanliurfa, Diyarbakir in particular. In Iskenderun and Adiyaman, it was the public hospitals that collapsed under the effect of the earthquake, which occurred at a depth of about 17.9 kilometers. This earthquake is the largest in Turkey since the earthquake of August 17, 1999, which caused the death of 17,000 people, including a thousand in Istanbul.

The bad weather in this mountainous region paralyzes the main airports around Diyarbakir and Malatya, where it continues to snow very heavily, leaving the survivors haggard, in their pajamas outside in the cold. Faced with this desolation, the inhabitants everywhere are mobilizing and trying to clear the ruins with their bare hands, using buckets to evacuate the debris. Further south, still according to NTV, the Byzantine citadel of Gaziantep, erected in the 6th century, has partially collapsed. In Syria, the earthquake caused scenes of panic, the inhabitants rushed outside, on foot or by car, despite the torrential rains, as well as in neighboring Lebanon where the tremors were strongly felt.

Many countries offer help

The Turkish president, whose reaction to this tragedy will most likely be closely watched before the May 14 election which promises to be very tight, called for national unity. “We hope we get out of this disaster together as quickly as possible and with as little damage as possible,” he tweeted. The European Union, many of whose Member States have offered their aid to the populations of the devastated regions, has begun to send relief teams. “We are following in shock the news of the earthquake in the border region between Turkey and Syria. The death toll continues to rise. We mourn with the families and tremble for those buried,” German Chancellor Olaf tweeted. Scholz.

The United States, Russia, Israel and Ukraine also offered their help, as did Greece, whose relations with Ankara are stormy, which announced “to provide assistance immediately”. Azerbaijan, a sister country to Turkey, announced the immediate dispatch of 370 rescuers, and India reported sending rescue and medical teams.

Gas pipelines affected

“It is not possible to say how many people are dead and injured at the moment because there are so many destroyed buildings,” Kahramanmaras Governor Omer Faruk Cosku said. A 13th-century mosque was partially destroyed in Maltaya province, where a 13-storey building with 28 apartments collapsed.

The gas pipelines supplying the region were also affected and the provinces of Hatay, Kahramanmaras and Gaziantep are deprived of gas, said the public body Botas. Iraqi Kurdistan has announced that it has suspended its oil exports to Turkey “for security reasons”. The tremors, felt across the southeast of the country, were also felt in Lebanon and Cyprus, according to AFP correspondents, as well as in Iraqi Kurdistan in the north of the country in Erbil and Douk, but no casualties has not been reported.

According to the Danish Geological Institute, the tremors were felt as far away as Greenland. Turkey is located on one of the most active seismic zones in the world. At the end of November, a magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck northwestern Turkey, injuring around 50 people and causing limited damage, according to the Turkish emergency services.