more than 5,000 dead in the provisional toll, the images of the drama

TURKEY EARTHQUAKE. Several earthquakes shook Turkey and Syria between February 6 and 7. The earthquakes killed at least 5,000 people and injured more than 20,000 according to the provisional toll.

The earth shook in Turkey with a force rarely seen. Several earthquakes shook the Anatolia region on Monday February 6, it started in the middle of the night at 4:17 a.m. (2:17 a.m. French time) with an earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale. Hundreds of aftershocks followed, but above all two other earthquakes: one with a power of 7.5 at midday and a last one of magnitude 5.6 very early in the morning of Tuesday, February 7.

The rumblings of the Earth have done immense damage in Turkey but also in Syria. More than 24 hours after the first earthquake, the human toll is still provisional but already shows more than 5,000 dead according to the authorities. Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay counted 3,419 deaths in Turkey in addition to 1,602 dead people found in Syria. The number of wounded, also provisional, is estimated at more than 20,500 on Turkish land and more than 3,500 on the other side of the border. These figures are still likely to climb because on-site rescue operations are still underway to try to rescue the victims buried under the rubble. Rescues that are complicated by the freezing cold and weather conditions but also because the area affected by the earthquake extends for hundreds of kilometers.

The World Health Organization (WHO) does not share encouraging news and estimates that the death toll could be “eight times higher than the initial numbers” according to Catherine Smallwood, head of emergency situations for the European office of WHO, or reach the milestone of 20,000 deaths.

Striking images of earthquakes in Turkey

In Turkey, residents who witnessed the earthquake said in testimonies that they had the impression of living an “apocalypse”. A feeling that is reflected in the images of the event, of the damage caused but also of the destitute victims. Videos also show the violence with which the buildings collapsed, causing deaths and injuries in their path.

Collapsed buildings and buried victims, rescuers at work

Repeated earthquakes in Turkey have destroyed thousands of buildings and infrastructure, in major Turkish cities alone the authorities count more than 6,000 collapsed buildings. A figure that does not count all the other buildings weakened and ready to fall. Some buildings have cracks that look like fractures. More than the material damage, the victims held under the rubble are worrying. In some places, the emergency services estimate the number of buried people at 200 who are signaled by cries. According to the Turkish organization in charge of disaster and emergency management, AFAD, 24,400 people are mobilized to participate in rescue operations. These professional and volunteer rescuers are to be joined this Tuesday, February 7 by international teams sent by different nations.

What is the toll of earthquakes in Turkey?

It is a dramatic assessment which can still swell. Earthquakes in Turkey have already killed more than 5,000 people (3,419 in Turkey and 1,602 in Syria) and injured more than 23,000. Hour after hour, the toll evolves and tends to increase as rescuers find victims in the rubble.

In addition to the physical victims of the earthquakes, the WHO estimates that 23 million people could be affected by the consequences of the earthquake in Turkey and Syria. “Event maps show that 23 million people are potentially at risk, including around 5 million vulnerable people,” Adelheid Marschang, a WHO official, said on Tuesday, February 7.

What is the international aid after the earthquake in Turkey?

Turkey has, in the hours following the earthquake, made security arrangements and mobilized all its rescue workers. Turkish Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu has gone so far as to issue a level four alert which involves a call for international assistance. A call heard by dozens of countries and the European Union, which was the first to announce the dispatch of teams of rescuers, a position shared in the process by all or almost all European nations. In France, President Emmanuel Macron has promised to send “emergency aid to the populations” and more than a hundred rescuers are due to arrive in Turkey on February 7. Volunteer troops from the International Emergency Fire Department also make the trip.

In addition to Europe, Ukraine and Russia, at war, have offered to send all “necessary aid”. As well as China via the Chinese foreign aid agency, India, Iran or Azerbaijan. In Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “ordered all authorities to immediately prepare to provide medical assistance and relief” and “approved” the dispatch of aid to enemy country Syria.