Turkey/Syria Earthquake

[DerekC]

Turkey earthquake: Where did it hit and why was it so deadly?

Two earthquakes have killed thousands of people in southern Turkey and northern Syria.

www.bbc.co.uk

Tens of thousands of people have been killed and scores more injured by a huge earthquake which struck south-eastern Turkey, near the Syrian border, in the early hours of Monday morning.

The earthquake, which hit near the town of Gaziantep, was closely followed by numerous aftershocks - including one quake which was almost as large as the first.


This was a region where there had not been a major earthquake for more than 200 years or any warning signs, so the level of preparedness would be less than for a region which was more used to dealing with tremors.

I have started this thread, not because I have anything useful to say, but because it seems wrong that we ignore this tragic event completely.

Our thoughts are, I am sure, with the victims and their families and particularly with those survivors who know their families are trapped under collapsed buildings.

 

[GRALISTAIR]

Yes gut wrenching when relatives get cell phone calls from those trapped.
The cold weather does not help either.
Absolutely tragic.

 

[OhNoAPacer]

It's worth mentioning that the Disasters Emergency Committee is taking donations for thus terrible event. DEC.ORG.UK.

 

[Strathclyder]

The death toll has surpassed that of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake & tsunami in Japan: it has surpassed 24,000 according to the latest BBC reporting. Those are numbers that are near impossible to comprehend.

So many videos circulating online of buildings in the affected regions of Turkey damaged in the first major tremor that occurred overnight collapsing completely in one of the later aftershocks. Some of them looked pretty new, which is pretty damn indicative of the rampant corruption in Turkey's construction industry under Erodgan IMO. One can only hope that they'd been evacuated by that point.

Can't even begin to imagine how the survivors are dealing with this living nightmare, so much grief, fear, helplessness and no doubt growing righteous fury at having lost everything so needlessly. The bitterly cold winter weather is only compounding the catastrophe and making the rescue workers' already unimaginably difficult task that much harder. My heart goes out to the victims and their familes, particularly with those with family members trapped in the rubble of collapsed buildings.

Further to @OhNoAPacer's post above, a direct link to the DEC's dedicated page for the Turkey/Syria disaster relief effort below for those willing and able to donate:

Turkey-Syria Earthquake Appeal

Your donations are helping people in Turkey and Syria recover from last year’s devastating earthquakes. Within hours of the disaster DEC charities and their local partners began providing food, water, shelter and medical aid. Over the past year we have helped over a million people on the long...

www.dec.org.uk

 

[Nicholas Lewis]

People need to be evacuated from earthquake prone areas of the world. Otherwise this kind of tragedy will happen again and again.

This was 7.8 earthquake Japan 2011 was 9.1 which is over 10 times more powerful but the buildings there largely withstood the tremors as they have a building code designed for it. The resulting Tsunami caused most of the damage. For sure over development in earthquake zones should be resisted but with the right building construction there should be far less building failure.

 

[GusB]

The death toll has surpassed that of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake & tsunami in Japan: it has surpassed 24,000 according to the latest BBC reporting. Those are numbers that are near impossible to comprehend.

That number is close to the population of the biggest town in my area so, to me at least, it's scarily easy to comprehend. Sadly, BBC news 24 is now reporting that the toll is now closer to 33,000 across Turkey and Syria.

This is also from the BBC:

Turkey earthquake: 113 arrest warrants connected to building construction

Before the earthquake, there were amnesties for contractors who swerved regulations.

www.bbc.co.uk

Officials in Turkey say 113 arrest warrants have been issued in connection with the construction of buildings that collapsed in Monday's earthquake.

Turkish police have already taken at least 12 people into custody, including building contractors.

Meanwhile, unrest in southern Turkey has disrupted rescue efforts in some places.

The number of people confirmed to have died in Turkey and Syria has risen to more than 30,000.

More arrests are expected - but the action will be seen by many as an attempt to divert overall blame for the disaster.

The collapsed buildings that were meant to withstand earthquakes
For years, experts warned that many new buildings in Turkey were unsafe due to endemic corruption and government policies.

Those policies allowed so-called amnesties for contractors who swerved building regulations, in order to encourage a construction boom - including in earthquake-prone regions.

Thousands of buildings collapsed during the earthquake, raising questions about whether the natural disaster's impact was made worse by human failings.

It's little comfort to those who have lost loved ones in this disaster, but I hope the book gets thrown at these people. It should also serve as a warning to those people in this country who are pushing for looser regulation.

 

[al78]

This was 7.8 earthquake Japan 2011 was 9.1 which is over 10 times more powerful but the buildings there largely withstood the tremors as they have a building code designed for it. The resulting Tsunami caused most of the damage. For sure over development in earthquake zones should be resisted but with the right building construction there should be far less building failure.

It is coming to light now that some of those buildings which collapsed were not built to the local building regulations.

Turkey earthquake: 113 arrest warrants connected to building construction

Before the earthquake, there were amnesties for contractors who swerved regulations.

www.bbc.co.uk

"Officials in Turkey say 113 arrest warrants have been issued in connection with the construction of buildings that collapsed in Monday's earthquake."

"For years, experts warned that many new buildings in Turkey were unsafe due to endemic corruption and government policies.
Those policies allowed so-called amnesties for contractors who swerved building regulations, in order to encourage a construction boom - including in earthquake-prone regions.
Thousands of buildings collapsed during the earthquake, raising questions about whether the natural disaster's impact was made worse by human failings."

Same old story, do something on the cheap, externalise the consequences.

 

[Strathclyder]

It is coming to light now that some of those buildings which collapsed were not built to the local building regulations.

Turkey earthquake: 113 arrest warrants connected to building construction

Before the earthquake, there were amnesties for contractors who swerved regulations.

www.bbc.co.uk

"Officials in Turkey say 113 arrest warrants have been issued in connection with the construction of buildings that collapsed in Monday's earthquake."

"For years, experts warned that many new buildings in Turkey were unsafe due to endemic corruption and government policies.
Those policies allowed so-called amnesties for contractors who swerved building regulations, in order to encourage a construction boom - including in earthquake-prone regions.
Thousands of buildings collapsed during the earthquake, raising questions about whether the natural disaster's impact was made worse by human failings."

Same old story, do something on the cheap, externalise the consequences.

'The history of safety regulation is written in blood'. That phrase is ringing pretty damn loudly in my ears right now. One would also think that the government that's supposed to enforce said rules will face some real culpabilty for their role in exacerbating this disaster. Given the levels of corruption that riddle nearly every aspect of Erdogan's Turkey (not just the construction industry), I ain't exactly hopeful on that front.

 

[londonbridge]

Ghanaian footballer Christian Atsu, who played for Turkish club Hatayspor, and had spells with Everton, Chelsea and Newcastle, was listed as missing following the quake, sadly this morning his agent confirmed that his body had been recovered from the rubble. He was 31. What a terrible way to go. RIP.