According to the data of the Turkish Disaster Management, at 4:17 local time, an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.4 occurred in the Pazarcik district of Kahramanmaras province in southern Turkey, which was followed by a 6.4 earthquake in the Nurdagi district of Gaziantep province in southeastern Turkey at 4:26 a.m. , followed by a magnitude 6.5 earthquake in the Islahiye area of Gaziantep at 4:36 p.m.
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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced on his official Twitter account on Monday that he would declare seven days of national mourning following the devastating earthquakes that struck southern Turkey earlier in the day, killing at least 1,651 people.
At the same time, Erdogan announced that until sunset on February 12, the national flag will be lowered to half-mast across the country and at foreign embassies.
Shortly before Erdogan’s Twitter post, Turkish ministers in southern Turkey’s Hatay province held a press conference.
Health Minister Fahrettin Koca reported that at least 1,651 people lost their lives and 11,119 were injured in the disaster.
Defense Minister Hulusi Akar indicated that a navy ship is transporting injured people from the port of Iskenderun to hospitals in the neighboring province of Mersin at night. At the same time, he said that 17 planes are constantly taking relief supplies from the biggest cities, Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir, to the two airports of the disaster-stricken area, Adanai and Gaziantepi.
According to the evening data of the Turkish Disaster Management Agency (AFAD), 5,606 buildings have collapsed in the earthquakes, while 6,445 people have already been rescued from the ruins.
Turkish Education Minister Mehmet Özer announced a few hours earlier that school education would be suspended throughout the country until February 13.
The rescue operations in South and South-East Turkey are greatly hampered by the cold weather prevailing in the region, which threatens many people with the risk of freezing at night.
At a press conference held earlier on Monday, Turkish President Erdogan stated that this is the most serious natural disaster since the 1939 Erzincan earthquake, in which tens of thousands lost their lives in Eastern Turkey.
According to AFAD data, the first earthquake with a magnitude of 7.7 occurred at 4:17 local time in the Pazarcik district of Kahramanmaras province in southern Turkey, which was followed by a 6.4-magnitude earthquake at 4:26 in the Nurdagi district of Gaziantep province in southeastern Turkey. and at 4:36 a.m. in the Islahiye area of Gaziantep was followed by a 6.5-magnitude earthquake.
Regardless of the morning tremors, at 1:24 p.m. local time, AFAD also reported another earthquake, this time with a magnitude of 7.6, from the Elbistan area of Kahramanmaras province.
The first Russian ambulances have left for Turkey, soldiers are helping to clear the rubble in Syria
The first plane of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations, carrying rescue units, took off from the Zhukovsky airport near Moscow on Monday evening, and the Russian units stationed there joined in the elimination of the consequences of the earthquake.
Aleksandr Chupriyan, the deputy head of the specialized ministry, who will coordinate the work on the spot, is on his way to Turkey with the An-148 plane carrying the Russian disaster response units.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu instructed the command of the Russian contingent stationed in Syria to provide assistance in eliminating the consequences of the earthquake. The Russian army has established distribution centers in the cities of Aleppo, Hama and Latakia, as well as in the settlements of Jabl, Sztamu and Busstan al-Basa, where the needy receive food packages and basic items.
Ten Russian military detachments have begun cleaning up the rubble, searching for victims and providing medical assistance in the most devastated areas.
Russian President Vladimir Putin offered help to his Turkish and Syrian counterpart on Monday. Many people placed flowers of condolence in front of the Turkish and Syrian embassies in Moscow.
The team of the rescue organization Hunor has left for Turkey
The team of the Hunor rescue organization left Budapest for Turkey on Monday to help the victims of the earthquake.
Bence Rétvári, the Parliamentary State Secretary of the Ministry of the Interior, emphasized at the farewell of the research and rescue unit of the National Directorate General of Disaster Management: the speed of assistance is a very important factor in such a disaster situation. The faster help arrives, the more lives can be saved. This is all the more important, because according to the news, more than a thousand people fell victim to the disaster that happened at dawn on Monday, and the number of injured can be put at five to six thousand, he said.
He reminded that the Hunor rescue unit was established 11 years ago and since then the Hungarian disaster management has proven worldwide that it is one of the most prepared rescue organizations in the world. They provided assistance in disaster situations in, among others, Serbia, Macedonia and Japan, he listed.
The activity of the “elite structure” of the Hungarian disaster protection will also strengthen the Hungarian-Turkish friendship – believed Bence Rétvári, who thanked the members of the unit for their position.
It was also announced at the event that the rescue unit leaving for Turkey has 55 members, and in addition to firefighters, military doctors and rescue service staff also take part in the work. They also bring search dogs with them.
The personnel and 90 tons of equipment are transported by the Airbus 319 plane of the Hungarian Armed Forces from Liszt Ferenc Airport to Adana Airport in Turkey. After their arrival, the Turkish disaster management will manage the activities of the Hungarian rescue team.
The equipment of the Hunor ensures the self-sufficiency of the rescue unit for 10 days, that is, they do not have to use the resources of the local disaster management, they said.
Turkey requested international assistance through the European Emergency Management Centre.
The United States is sending more rescue units to Turkey
The United States is sending two more rescue units to Turkey to help search and rescue after the earthquake, the coordinator of the White House’s National Security Council said on Monday.
John Kirby said at a press conference that the United States is closely cooperating with Turkey, and that after the natural disaster, high-ranking American officials immediately contacted their Turkish partners to discuss the forms of assistance. He drew attention to the fact that the president had authorized the immediate granting of all support. The White House official also said that negotiations are ongoing with the Turkish side, but the situation is changing very quickly, to which they are also trying to adapt with additional support.
In addition to the American rescue and search units already on site, they are preparing to send two more rescue teams to help the Turkish units – emphasized John Kirby, and added that the US international aid organization, USAID, and the Ministry of Defense are also negotiating separately with their Turkish partners about further about subsidies.
As for aid in Syria, the United States can provide aid there through the aid organizations it supports, John Kirby pointed out. The United States does not currently have diplomatic relations with Syria.
The coordinator of the White House National Security Council confirmed the condolences of the United States to Turkey and Syria in the wake of the devastating earthquake.
Several strong earthquakes rocked the southeast of Turkey and the north of Syria on Monday. There are currently more than 2,600 dead and more than 1,300 injured in the two countries.
The first Russian ambulances have left for Turkey, soldiers are helping to clear the rubble in Syria
The first plane of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations, carrying rescue units, took off from the Zhukovsky airport near Moscow on Monday evening, and the Russian units stationed there joined in the elimination of the consequences of the earthquake.
Aleksandr Chupriyan, the deputy head of the specialized ministry, is on his way to Turkey on the An-148 plane carrying the Russian disaster response units, who will coordinate the work on site.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu instructed the command of the Russian contingent stationed in Syria to provide assistance in eliminating the consequences of the earthquake. The Russian army has established distribution centers in the cities of Aleppo, Hama and Latakia, as well as in the settlements of Jabl, Sztamu and Busstan al-Basa, where the needy receive food packages and basic items.
Ten Russian military detachments have begun cleaning up the rubble, searching for victims and providing medical assistance in the most devastated areas.
Russian President Vladimir Putin offered help to his Turkish and Syrian counterpart on Monday. Many people placed flowers of condolence in front of the Turkish and Syrian embassies in Moscow.
Seismologist: strong aftershocks may follow the current earthquake
The aftershocks after Monday’s earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria can last up to two or three years, and it cannot be ruled out that they will exceed magnitude 6, said seismologist László Tóth on Tuesday morning on the current channel M1.
The expert explained: an earthquake can be called an aftershock if it can be linked to the movement of the same tectonic plate.
Three tectonic plates, the African, the Arabian and the Anatolian, meet under Turkey, and they are approaching each other at a rate of a few centimeters per year, he explained.
The epicenter of Monday’s earthquake was at a depth of about 15-20 kilometers; a 180-kilometer-long and 25-kilometer-deep crack was created in the earth’s crust.
László Tóth emphasized that the movement of tectonic plates is a natural process that has been going on for tens of millions of years and will continue to do so for the next million years.
When asked, he also said that experts can determine with great accuracy where an earthquake is expected, but it is no longer possible to predict exactly when it will occur.
He added that building damage caused by earthquakes can be significantly reduced with appropriate technology, although earthquake-proof construction is much more expensive than traditional construction.
MTI
