It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
Second powerful earthquake rocks Turkey hours after morning devastation Chris Stevenson Mon, 6 February 2023
Turkey has been hit with a second earthquake measuring more than 7 magnitude, according to measurements from the US Geological Survey.
The tremor, measuring 7.5 magnitude was picked up about four kilometres outside Ekinozu, central Turkey. The European Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) measured the quake at 7.7 magnitude, with its epicentre about 40 miles north north-east of Kahramanmaras, a depth of 2km.
Thousands more were injured when the earthquake struck, collapsing apartment blocks and heaping more destruction on Syrian cities already devastated by years of war.
The quake, which hit in the early darkness of a winter morning, was the worst to hit Turkey this century. It was also felt in Cyprus and Lebanon.
Rescue workers operating in bitter winter weather pulled casualties from rubble across the region.
Residents retrieve an injured man from the rubble of a collapsed building following an earthquake in the town of Jandaris, in the countryside of Syria's northwestern city of Afrin
(AFP via Getty Images)
The World Health Organisation (WHO) expects a significant jump in the death toll following the two major earthquakes and aftershocks.
"I think we can expect the death toll to increase significantly," Rick Brennan, the WHO's regional emergency director for the Eastern Mediterranean, told Reuters.
"There's been a lot of building collapses and it will increase more significantly around the epicentre of the earthquake."
Turkey has said that more than 1,000 people have died in the earthquake, with thousands more injured.
In Syria, already wrecked by more than 11 years of civil war, the health ministry said more than 326 people had been killed and 1,042 injured in government-held areas.
At least 255 people were killed and 811 injured in opposition-held areas of northwest Syria, a spokesperson for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance (OCHA) told Reuters.
Madevi Sun-Suon said the agency expected the casualty figures to increase as many people remained stuck under the rubble amid a response effort being hampered by tough weather conditions.
The agency had also recorded at least 170 buildings damaged in northwest Syria, the spokesperson said.
Turkey earthquake: Screaming, shaking... how it felt when the quake hit Imogen James - BBC News Mon, February 6, 2023 A car buried by the roof of a house in Diyarbakir
It was 04:17 local time when Erdem, asleep at his home in Gaziantep, southern Turkey, was shaken from his sleep by one of Turkey's biggest-ever earthquakes.
"I have never felt anything like it in the 40 years I've lived," he said. "We were shaken at least three times very strongly, like a baby in a crib."
People went to their cars to escape the damaged buildings. "I imagine not a single person in Gaziantep is in their homes now," Erdem said.
More than 130 miles (209km) west, in Adana, Nilüfer Aslan was convinced her and her family would die when the quake shook their fifth-floor apartment.
"I have never seen anything like this in my life. We swayed for close to one minute," she said.
"[I said to my family] 'There is an earthquake, at least let's die together in the same place'... It was the only thing that crossed my mind."
When the quake paused, Aslan fled outside - "I couldn't take anything with me, I'm standing outside in slippers" - to find that four buildings surrounding her own had collapsed.
In Diyarbakir, 300 miles (482km) east, people rushed into the streets to help rescuers.
"There was screaming everywhere," one 30-year-old man told the Reuters news agency. "I started pulling rocks away with my hands. We pulled out the injured with friends, but the screaming didn't stop. Then the [rescue] teams came."
Elsewhere in the city, Muhittin Orakci said seven members of their family were buried in the rubble.
"My sister and her three children are there," he told the AFP news agency. "And also her husband, her father-in-law and her mother-in-law."
In Syria, a large number of buildings collapsed in Aleppo, around a two-hour drive from the epicentre. Health director Ziad Hage Taha said wounded people were "arriving in waves" following the disaster.
Aleppo, Syria
Özgül Konakçı, a 25-year-old who lives in Malatya, Turkey, said the aftershocks - and freezing weather - made things worse.
"It's very cold and it's snowing right now," she told BBC Turkish. "Everyone is on the streets, people are confused about what to do. Just before our eyes, the windows of a building exploded due to aftershocks."
As a second earthquake occurred at 10:24 GMT, a camera operator for Turkish news channel A Haber could be seen running from a collapsing building in Malatya as screaming was heard in the background.
"As we were heading to the rubble to [film] search and rescue efforts, there were two consecutive aftershocks with a loud noise," reporter Yuksel Akalan said on air.
"The building you are seeing on my left was brought down to earth. There is a lot of dust. A local resident is coming and he is covered in dust. A mother is taking her children [away]."
Ozgul Konacki, 25 and from Malatya, spoke while waiting outside with her family, having seen buildings around them collapse.
"Some people wanted to go back to their houses because it was too cold," she said. "But then we felt strong aftershocks and they were out again."
Ismail Al Abdullah - a rescuer from Syrian humanitarian group White Helmets - has been working in Sarmada, near the border with Turkey, rescuing survivors.
"Many buildings in different cities and villages in north-western Syria collapsed, destroyed by this earthquake," he said.
"We need help. We need the international community to do something, to help us, to support us. North-western Syria is now a disaster area. We need help from everyone to save our people."
Videos from Turkey show collapsed buildings and rubble in the aftermath of a 7.8 magnitude earthquake that has killed more than 1,600
Hannah Getahun
People stand in front of a collapsed residential building after an earthquake in Malatya, Turkey February 6, 2023.Depo Photos via REUTERS
A 7.8 magnitude earthquake in southern Turkey was felt as far away as Lebanon.
The Turkish city of Gaziantep was one of the major areas affected by the quake.
Videos online show the aftermath of the quake, which could result in a large number of casualties.
Videos and photos that have emerged online showing the massive destruction caused by a powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake that rocked Turkey and Syria on Monday, killing more than 1,600 and leaving thousands more injured.
According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the epicenter of the earthquake was in southern Turkey, 20 miles away from the city of Gaziantep. The Governor of the Gaziantep province wrote on Twitter that the quake was "felt strongly" in the region. The earthquake was followed by a 6.7-magnitude aftershock 11 minutes later.
The quake was also felt in Lebanon and Israel.
Men search under the rubble at the site of a collapsed building, following an earthquake, in Hama, Syria, in this handout released by SANA on February 6, 2023.SANA/Handout via REUTERS
"Only three earthquakes of magnitude 6 or larger have occurred within 250 km of the February 6 earthquake since 1970," a tectonic summary from the USGS noted.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan said on Twitter that all "relevant units" were being dispatched to help people trapped under buildings.
People try to reach trapped residents in a collapsed building in Diyarbakir, southeastern Turkey, early Monday, Feb. 6, 2023. A powerful earthquake has caused significant damage in southeast Turkey and Syria and many casualties are feared. Damage was reported across several Turkish provinces, and rescue teams were being sent from around the country.Mahmut Bozarsan/AP
"I convey my best wishes to all our citizens who were affected by the earthquake that occurred in Kahramanmaraş and was felt in many parts of our country," Erdoğan wrote.
As a result of the quake, Italy's Department of Civil Protection also issued a Tsunami alert warning citizens to move away from coastal areas.
Factbox-Turkey quake: international support and offers of aid
Mon, February 6, 2023
(Reuters) - Dozens of governments and international organisations have responded with offers of support after an earthquake of magnitude 7.8 struck central Turkey and northwest Syria.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday that 45 countries had offered help with search and rescue efforts.
Below is a list of some of those announcements of support:
GERMANY
Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said Germany's federal civil protection agency could provide camps with emergency shelters and water treatment units and that it was already preparing relief supplies with emergency generators, tents and blankets, in coordination with the Turkish authorities.
U.N. WORLD HEALTH ORGANISATION
WHO chief Tedros said its network of emergency medical teams has been activated to provide essential health care for the injured and most vulnerable affected by the earthquake.
ITALY
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said Italy's Civil Protection was standing by to contribute support and provide first aid.
INDIA
The government said two teams from India's National Disaster Response Force comprising 100 personnel with specially trained dog squads and equipment were ready to be flown to the disaster area for search and rescue operations. Medical teams were being readied and relief material was being sent in coordination with the Turkish authorities.
POLAND
Poland will send rescue group HUSAR consisting of 76 firemen and eight rescue dogs, Interior and Administration Minister Mariusz Kamiński said.
EUROPEAN UNION
European Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarčič said the EU's 24/7 Emergency Response Coordination Centre had been in contact with the Turkish authorities and had activated its emergency Copernicus satellite mapping service to help first responders working on the ground.
TAIWAN
Taiwan’s fire department said a team of 40 rescuers along with three search and rescue dogs and four to five tonnes of aid would leave for Turkey on Monday. It previously said it was ready to offer a team 130 people, along with five search dogs and 13 tonnes of aid, and was awaiting Turkey's response.
UKRAINE
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Ukraine was ready to send support. "We are in this moment close to the friendly Turkish people, ready to provide the necessary assistance," he said.
RUSSIA
Russia's emergencies ministry said two IL-76 aircraft with 100 rescuers were ready to fly out to Turkey if required.
President Vladimir Putin sent messages to Turkey and to Syria, where Russian troops have been supporting the Syrian military, expressing condolences to the presidents of both nations and offering support.
GREECE
Greek Prime Minister Kyrikos Mitsotakis offered condolences and support to Turkey, saying Greece was mobilizing its resources and will assist immediately.
SPAIN
Spanish urban rescue teams are preparing to travel to Turkey, Spain's Interior Ministry said, and officials from the Defence Ministry and other departments were coordinating to send the crews immediately to Turkey.
ISRAEL
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said all authorities have been instructed to make immediate preparations to provide medical, and search and rescue assistance.
NORWEGIAN REFUGEE COUNCIL (NRC)
"NRC is assessing the situation in order to provide direct support to those most affected across Syria. A massive scale up is needed and our organisation will be part of it," said Carsten Hansen, Middle East regional director for NRC. He also appealed for more international support for Syria and southern Turkey.
(Reporting by Reuters bureaus; Editing by Edmund Blair, Angus MacSwan, William Maclean)
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