ANKARA: The death toll in the Turkey-Syria earthquake passed 15,000 early Thursday, as hopes of finding more survivors faded from the rubble of devastated towns and villages.
In a swamp in southern Turkey, people looked for temporary shelter and food in the cold weather, and waited in anguish by piles of rubble where family and friends might still be buried.
Rescue workers were still searching for some people alive. But many Turks have complained of a lack of equipment, expertise and assistance to rescue those trapped – sometimes they could even hear cries for help.
Sources said in some of the affected areas the authorities have been able to reach only 2-3 per cent of the collapsed buildings.
“Where is the state? Where have they been for two days? We are begging them. Let us do this, we can get them out,” said Sabiha Alinac, near a snow-covered collapsed building in the city of Malatya, where her young relatives were trapped.
At last, dozens of bodies, some covered with blankets and sheets and others in body bags, lay on the ground outside a hospital. One survivor, Melek, 64, said he had not seen any rescuers. “We survived the earthquake, but we will die of hunger or cold here.”
There were similar scenes in northern Syria, which was also badly hit by two major earthquakes on Monday. Syria’s ambassador to the United Nations acknowledged that the regime in Damascus “lacked capabilities and equipment”, which he attributed to Western sanctions.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan acknowledged that his government’s initial response to the disaster was inadequate, but insisted that it was improving.
“We will be better tomorrow and later. We still have some issues with fuel… but we will overcome those too,” Erdogan said during a visit to Kahramanmaras to view the damage and rescue and relief efforts. But said
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited the site of the destroyed buildings during his visit to the city of Kahramanmaras. (AFP)
Entire streets in Kahramanmaras, the city closest to the epicenter, were covered in rubble, with plumes of smoke rising from fires. Hundreds of tents were set up as shelters in a sports stadium. About 50 bodies wrapped in blankets lay on the floor of a sports hall.
Death toll set to rise
As search and rescue operations continued, the World Health Organization warned that the final death toll could exceed 20,000.
A similar earthquake in the region in 1999 killed at least 17,000 people.
Turkish officials say some 13.5 million people were affected in an area stretching some 450 km from Adana in the west to Diyarbakır in the east. In Syria, people were killed as far south as Hama, 250 km from the epicenter.
Some of those killed in Turkey were refugees of the war in Syria. Their body bags arrived at the border in taxis, vans and were piled atop flatbed trucks to be taken to their final resting places in their homeland.
More than 298,000 people have been left homeless and 180 shelters for the displaced have been opened, with Syrian state media referring to areas clearly under government control, and not held by opposition groups.
In Syria, relief efforts are complicated by a conflict that has divided the country and devastated its infrastructure.
UN officials said the delivery of UN humanitarian aid through Turkey to millions of people in northwestern Syria could resume on Thursday after an earthquake halted a long-running campaign.
In the Syrian city of Aleppo, staff at al-Razi hospital treated a wounded man who said more than a dozen relatives, including his mother and father, were killed when the building collapsed.
press for help
Analysts said Syrian President Bashar Assad is trying to make political gains from the quake, pressing for foreign aid to pass through his territory, as he aims to reduce his international isolation.
Global Empowerment Mission, a US-based NGO, has raised nearly $10 million in relief aid for the earthquake victims in the last 24 hours.
On Wednesday, Erdogan visited the affected Turkish regions to inspect the earthquake damage and talk to survivors.
“Initially, 10,000 Turkish lira ($500) will be allocated to each citizen affected by the earthquake,” he said.
In the wake of the disaster, search and rescue workers from around the world, as well as doctors, have rushed to Turkey and Syria.
Turkish municipalities have deployed hundreds of rescue workers of their own.
Although domestic rescue efforts have been criticized as inadequate by local residents, the rapid international response to the disaster has been praised.
Saudi Arabia’s leadership directed the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center to operate an air bridge to bring medical supplies, shelter, food and logistical support to the victims.
A United Nations emergency fund allocated $25 million for the humanitarian response in the region.
Despite the growing diplomatic crisis between Greece and Turkey, Greek TV opened a morning news session with images and video from the earthquake area, with the lyrics of a folk song playing in the background: “I told the whole world that I love you.” Am.”
Debris of fallen buildings in Hatay village. (supply)
Several refugee children were also rescued by firefighters and mine workers on Tuesday, while a “miracle” newborn baby was pulled from rubble in northern Syria.
Turkey’s Federation of Solidarity with Asylum Seekers and Migrants has sent a team of 300 workers and volunteers to Antakya and Hatay, as well as translators and rescue dogs. Migrant survivors will be offered psychological support through the association.
Baris Sakir, a resident of Urfa, survived the earthquake thanks to the modern design of his house.
“However, there are still some cracks inside the house and we do not dare to go back inside. We are now living at the School of Fine Arts where I was taking piano lessons. My younger son is still suffering post-trauma,” he told Arab News.
Restaurants and hotels are offering free food and accommodation to those left homeless by the quake, with Turkish celebrities and municipalities sending food containers to locals as well as paying for their accommodation.
Meanwhile, Istanbul Municipality intervened on Wednesday to contain the blaze at Iskenderun Port, while Ankara Municipality began repairs to the damaged Hatay Airport. The communication channels have been badly disrupted by the earthquake.
According to the latest reports, in Hatay, more than 2,000 buildings were destroyed, with only 2-3 percent being reached by rescuers.
The dead are being kept in the temporary morgue at the sports hall. (AFP)
Authorities have warned that an increasing number of rescued children have been left alone in local hospitals, with precautions being taken to prevent abductions.
“Nature gave us exactly 23 years after the 1999 earthquake,” said Cem Say, a prominent Turkish computer scientist, referring to the large earthquake in the country’s northwest in 1999.
Last year, Turkey spent about $1.3 billion on disaster management programs – about 0.5 percent of the budgeted expenditure of the central government. But experts have called the funding insufficient.
Ismail Yolku, a survivor of the quake in southeastern Adiyaman province, said the homes of some relatives were completely destroyed.
He told Arab News: “There is no electricity. There is no heat. It is raining and it is very cold. We are sleeping on the streets. We are waiting for the tent to be set up. But the situation is dire.”
Sarmet Kuhader, chairman of the journalists’ union in Kahramanmaras, said the situation in the province had “improved a little”.
“We had to drink melted snow as there was no water in the city. Our eight-storey building collapsed during the first earthquake. Luckily I was not in the building at that time. Only three people were rescued,” he told Arab News.
With every hour, the hope of survival of more people is getting less and less. (AFP)
Kamil Kuhdar, the former mayor of Pajarsik village in Kahramanmaras, suffered a skull fracture during the earthquake before a stone fell on his head.
“The building in Pajarsik had strong supporting pillars. However, no pucca buildings have survived in the village. Rescue efforts were inadequate.
“They started early today, but it is too late now. The weather is so cold, it was minus 7 degrees Celsius yesterday when everyone was lying on the streets.
“There are not enough equipment to remove the debris. There is no means of lifting,” he told Arab News.
There are reports that the government of Turkey has blocked Twitter in some areas. (supply)
Nel Islek, from Dulkadiroglu village in Kahramanmaras, saw her neighbor’s house collapse during the earthquake, and ran to her mother’s house to take shelter.
“We have electricity but still no water. Some people who are taking advantage of this chaos are selling small bottles of water at twice and sometimes thrice the price. We didn’t have enough equipment to clear the debris. The men could barely remove it with their hands,” she told Arab News.
Several municipalities from western Turkey sent mobile kitchens and container pharmacies to the disaster area, and started programs to distribute biscuits, bread and medicine to survivors.
Multiple sources told Arab News that immediate rescue efforts were “minimal”, but have intensified over the past two days.
Volunteers have attempted to fill the manpower gap, while several key workers as well as cooks have traveled to affected areas to help local residents.
Tent cities were set up in several areas while commando forces were deployed to the quake zone to assist in rescue efforts.
In the wake of the disaster, Turkey’s stock exchange also suspended trading for the first time in 24 years.
(with agencies)