7.2 quake in Turkey kills 138, collapses buildings
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) - October 23, 2011
Tens of thousands fled into the streets running, screaming or
trying to reach relatives on cell phones as apartment and office
buildings cracked or collapsed. As the full extent of the damage
became clear, survivors dug in with shovels or even their bare
hands, desperately trying to rescue the trapped and the injured.
"There are many people under the rubble," Veysel Keser, the
mayor of the district of Celebibag, told NTV. "People are in
agony. We can hear their screams for help."
Celebibag is near the hardest-hit area: Ercis, an eastern city
of 75,000 close to the Iranian border and on one of Turkey's most
earthquake-prone zones. The bustling city of Van, about 55 miles
(90 kilometers) south of Ecris, also sustained substantial damage.
Highways in the area caved in. The temblor struck at 1:41 p.m.
(1041 GMT; 6:41 a.m. EDT), the U.S. Geological Survey said.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said at least 93 people were
killed in Van, 45 others died in Ercis, and about 350 were injured.
Several people were still trapped under rubble, he said, without
citing any estimates.
Erdogan said rescue work would continue through the night.
Up to 80 buildings collapsed in Ercis, including a dormitory,
and 10 buildings collapsed in Van, the Turkish Red Crescent said.
The sheer number of collapsed buildings gave rise to fears that the
death toll could rise substantially.
U.S. scientists recorded over 100 aftershocks in eastern Turkey
within 10 hours of the quake, including one with a magnitude of
6.0. Authorities advised people to stay away from damaged homes,
warning they could collapse in the aftershocks.
Residents in Van and Ercis lit campfires, preparing to spend the
night outdoors while the Red Crescent began setting up tents in a
stadium. Others sought shelter with relatives in nearby villages.
Rescue efforts went deep into the night under generator-powered
floodlights. Workers tied steel rods around large concrete slabs in
Van, then lifted them with heavy machinery.
Residents sobbed outside the ruins of one flattened eight-story
building, hoping that missing relatives would be found. Witnesses
said eight people were pulled from the rubble, but frequent
aftershocks hampered search efforts. By late evening, some joy
emerged as a ninth, a teenage girl, was pulled out alive.
Erdogan urged residents to stay away from damaged buildings and
promised assistance to all survivors.
"We won't leave anyone to fend for themselves in the cold of
winter," he said.
Around 1,275 rescue teams from 38 provinces were being sent to
the region, officials said, and troops were also assisting
search-and-rescue efforts.
In Ercis, heavy machinery halted and people were ordered to keep
silent as rescuers tried to listen for possible survivors inside a
seven-story building housing 28 families, NTV reported.
Some inmates escaped a prison in Van after one of its walls
collapsed. TRT television said around 150 inmates had fled, but a
prison official said the number was much smaller and many later
returned.
Nazmi Gur, a legislator from Van, said his nephew's funeral
ceremony was cut short due to the quake and he rushed back to help.
"We managed to rescue a few people but I saw at least five
bodies," Gur told The Associated Press. "It was such a powerful
temblor. It lasted for such a long time,"
"But now we have no electricity, there is no heating, everyone
is outside in the cold," he added.
Authorities had no information yet on remote villages but the
provincial governor was touring the region by helicopter and the
government sent in tents, field kitchens and blankets.
The earthquake also shook buildings in neighboring Armenia and
Iran.
In the Armenian capital of Yerevan, 100 miles (160 kilometers)
from Ercis, people rushed into the streets in fear but no damage or
injuries were reported. Armenia was the site of a devastating
earthquake in 1988 that killed 25,000 people.
Sunday's quake caused panic in several Iranian towns close to
the Turkish border and caused cracks in buildings in the city of
Chaldoran, Iranian state TV reported.
Leaders around the world conveyed their condolences and offered
assistance.
"We stand shoulder to shoulder with our Turkish ally in this
difficult time, and are ready to assist," U.S. President Barack
Obama said.
Israeli President Shimon Peres telephoned Turkish President
Abdullah Gul to offer assistance.
"Israel shares in your sorrow," Peres said in a statement.
"Israel is ready to render any assistance that may be required
anywhere in Turkey, at any time."
The offer came despite a rift in relations following an 2010
Israeli navy raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla that left nine Turks
dead. Greece, which has a deep dispute with Turkey over the divided
island of Cyprus, also offered to send in a special earthquake
rescue team.
Turkey lies in one of the world's most active seismic zones and
is crossed by numerous fault lines. In 1999, two earthquakes with a
magnitude of more than 7 struck northwestern Turkey, killing about
18,000 people.
More recently, a 6.0-magnitude quake in March 2010 killed 51
people in eastern Turkey, while in 2003, a 6.4-magnitude earthquake
killed 177 people in the southeastern city of Bingol.
Istanbul, the country's largest city with more than 12 million
people, lies in northwestern Turkey near a major fault line.
Experts have warned that overcrowding and shoddy construction in
Istanbul could kill tens of thousands if a major earthquake struck.
LINK: http://www.redcross.org/