The president of Turkey on Tuesday declared a ‘state of emergency ’for the next three months. Five back-to-back high-magnitude earthquakes killed thousands of people in Turkey and nearby affected areas. The first 7.8 magnitude earthquake was centered in the Pazarcik district, but it affected many other provinces such as Gaziantep, Diyarbakir, Malatya, Kilis, and many more. The second 7.6 high-magnitude earthquake centered in Kahramanmaras’s Elbistan district, which also affected many parts of Syria.
Turkey and Syria both regions are both rocked by high-magnitude earthquakes on Monday Morning. A major 7.8 magnitude earthquake killed thousands of people within a day. The number of people died are around 8000, with several toppled buildings in the region. Survivors are left on the road with no option of returning to their houses.
Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdogan addressed the nation and announced that the high-magnitude earthquake was the worst disaster they have seen in the last decade. The area is no stranger to earthquakes as it regularly lies on fault lines with trigger shocks.
The region is seismically active, so lesser magnitude aftershocks are very common for the people in the area. That is the reason Turkey revised its building codes in the year 2000. Still, many buildings were not modified and collapsed in Monday’s earthquake leading to heavy loss of life and property.
As per the experts, the region experienced more than 60 earthquakes of more than 2.5 magnitudes in a single day before the deadly 7.8-magnitude earthquake.
What Happened?
On Monday morning, two parcels of the crust moved horizontally, technically known as strike-slip faulting, leading to such a high-magnitude earthquake after decades. The earthquake hit earth at a depth of 18 miles, the center region of south turkey, in the first 11 hours of the day. According to the USGS research geologist, the area experienced 13 aftershocks of earthquakes of magnitude 5.
Rescuers work tirelessly in this cold to rescue people alive and stuck under buildings or other areas. But it is expected that death numbers will rise in the coming days.
It’s like we woke up to hell,” said a survivor whose family members were still beneath a building.“Help isn’t coming, can’t come. We can’t reach anyone at all. Extraordinary surviving news updates are coming, which is a ray of hope for the people stuck in the area.”It is now a race against time,” said World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
WHO activated its medical emergency team to reach the affected areas as early as possible. Search teams from across the globe are offering their support to the earthquake-affected nation. Countries like the U.S., China, India, and the Gulf states have already started sending relief aid via air.
Also read: How to Donate Crypto to Ukraine?
