Rescuers managed to find survivors almost a week after the devastating earthquakes, and the Turkish authorities are trying to maintain order in the affected regions, writes Reuters.
The search and rescue work for the victims continues, and rescuers managed to find survivors on Sunday, the 12th of February. However, the hopes are fading, and the total number of victims in Turkey and Syria has exceeded 33 thousand, making it the deadliest earthquake since 1939.
In one of the worst-hit cities in the country, Antakya, shopkeepers have emptied their premises to avoid theft. City residents and rescuers say that the security situation has drastically deteriorated. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has announced that the government will take strict measures against marauders.
Erdogan faces questions about his responsibility in the country’s failure to prepare for a disaster of this magnitude. The upcoming elections are likely to be difficult for the president, who has been in power for two decades.
In Syria, the earthquake hit the rebel-held northwest of the country the hardest, leaving homeless people who have already been forced to leave their homes several times because of the war. Compared to areas under government control, northwestern Syria has received very little aid. Washington has called on the Syrian government and other parties involved to immediately allow humanitarian aid to those in need.
A rescue team from China rescued a 54-year-old Syrian man in Antakya, who spent 156 hours in the rubble. There are only a few buildings standing on the sides of Antakya’s main street, riddled with deep cracks.
At the moment, building safety has become the focus of attention, and an investigation has been launched to find those responsible.
The earthquake occurred before the Turkish presidential election. Even before the disaster, the current president’s popularity plummeted, mainly due to rising inflation and the depreciation of the Turkish currency. The government is also blamed for the initially slow and poorly organized rescue efforts.
In Syria, the war that has been ravaging the country for 12 years now also hinders the provision of adequate aid. Humanitarian aid shipments to the victims of northwestern Syria are allowed only from the Turkish side of the border. The UN hopes to increase the amount of cargo.
Several Arab countries have offered Syrian President Bashar al-Assad help to prevent the consequences of the earthquake.
The earthquake is rated as the sixth deadliest natural disaster of the century. In 2003, more than 31 thousand people died in an earthquake in Iran. Turkey says about 80,000 residents are in hospitals, and at least one million lives in temporary shelters.
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