Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Feb 6: Within hours of the century’s second most powerful earthquake hit Turkey and Syria during wee hours of Monday, another powerful quake hit the same region besides dozens of aftershocks that shook millions of people who had taken shelter after fleeing from civil war-hit regions.
Initial estimates said at least 1,800 people were killed in Turkey and Syria but official sources admit that the toll in one of the century’s worst temblors could go up to about the losses of 1939 when at least 33,000 people were killed in Turkey in 7.8 magnitude earthquake or of the damages of 1999 when 17,000 people were killed in a 7.5 magnitude quake.
On Monday, the region was hit by a 7.8 magnitude quake ealy in the morning followed by another shock of 7.5 magnitude in the evening besides numerous aftershocks many of which were of more than four magnitude on the Richter scale.
International communities including India have offered men and materials to the earthquake-hit regions to carry out rescue and relief works and provide assistance to the Turkish and Syrian authorities to come to the aid of the people rendered homeless by the powerful quakes.
Hundreds of people were killed in their sleep when the first quake hit the two countries in the wee hours levelling buildings and causing tremors that were felt as far away as Greenland. The 7.8-magnitude night-time tremor, followed hours later by two more big ones, wiped out entire sections of major Turkish cities in a region filled with millions of people who have fled the civil war in Syria and other conflicts.
The head of Syria’s National Earthquake Centre, Raed Ahmed, called it “the biggest earthquake recorded in the history of the centre.” Witnesses said the second jolt was felt as far apart as the Turkish capital Ankara and the Iraqi Kurdistan city of Irbil. Shocked survivors in Turkey rushed out into the snow-covered streets in their pyjamas, watching rescuers dig through the debris of damaged homes with their hands. The rescue was being hampered by a winter blizzard that covered major roads in ice and snow. Officials said the quake made three major airports in the area inoperable, further complicating deliveries of vital aid.
The United States, Washington, the European Union, and Russian all immediately sent condolences and offers of help. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky offered to provide “the necessary assistance” to Turkey, whose combat drones are helping Kyiv fight the Russian invasion.
The Syrian health ministry reported damage across the provinces of Aleppo, Latakia, Hama and Tartus, where Russia is leasing a naval facility. Media reports said in northern Syria terrified residents ran out of their homes after the ground shook. Even before the tragedy, buildings in Aleppo, Syria’s pre-war commercial hub, often collapsed due to the dilapidated infrastructure, which has suffered from lack of war-time oversight.
China’s President Xi Jinping sent his condolences to Turkish and Syrian leaders. Xi told Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in separate messages he was “shocked” to learn of the disaster, and conveyed “deep condolences for the dead and sincere sympathy for their families as well as for the injured”, state broadcaster CCTV reported.
Iraqi Kurdistan said it was suspending oil exports through Turkey as a precaution. Ukraine said it was ready to send emergency responders to Turkey. “Ukraine stands ready to send a large group of rescue workers to Turkey to assist in crisis response. We are working closely with the Turkish side to coordinate their deployment,” Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Twitter.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his government was preparing to send medical and rescue assistance to Turkey. The Turkish armed forces have set up an air corridor to enable search and rescue teams to reach the zone affected by the major earthquake in southern Turkey, the country’s Defence Ministry said on Monday. “We mobilized our planes to send medical teams, search, and rescue teams, and their vehicles to the earthquake zone,” the statement cited Defence Minister Hulusi Akar as saying.
French President Emmanuel Macron said his country stood ready to provide emergency aid to Turkey and Syria. “France is ready to provide emergency relief to the populations on the ground. Our thoughts are with the bereaved families,” Mr. Macron tweeted.
Turkey’s maritime authority said the Iskenderun port located in the southern Turkish province of Hatay was damaged due to the major earthquake. Following its damage inspections, the authority said on Twitter that operations continue in ports besides Iskenderun.
President Vladimir Putin offered Russian assistance on Monday to Syria and Turkey. Russia, which is closely allied with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, maintains a significant military presence in that country. Putin also has a strong rapport with President Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, a NATO member who has nevertheless sought to mediate in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
Official sources said there was no damage to the Kerkuk-Ceyhan pipeline carrying oil from Iraq to Turkey, or to the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, and oil flows are continuing on both after the earthquake. However, operations at the Ceyhan oil terminal in southern Turkey were suspended, the Tribeca shipping agency said, adding that an emergency meeting was being held on the issue. The eastern Mediterranean terminal is some 155 km from the area of the quake’s epicentre. -Reuters
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz promised aid. “We are following the news of the earthquake in the Turkish-Syrian border region with shock,” Mr. Scholz said on Twitter. “Germany will of course send help.”
The European Union is sending rescue teams and preparing further help for Turkey. “Teams from the Netherlands and Romania are already on their way,” with the EU’s Emergency Response Coordination Centre overseeing their deployment, commissioner Janez Lenarcic tweeted.