Devastation and Despair in Turkey and Syria After Deadly Earthquake
On Monday, February 8, 2023, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake rocked Turkey and neighboring Syria, leaving thousands dead and many more homeless. In Turkey, President Tayyip Erdogan admitted to problems with the government's initial response to the disaster, and promised no one would be left homeless. In Syria, the impact of the quake extended to many cities, with hundreds of collapsed buildings becoming tombs for those who had been asleep in their homes when the quake hit.
Families in both countries spent a second night in the freezing cold, with many sleeping in their cars or in the streets under blankets. In the Turkish city of Antakya, dozens of bodies, some covered in blankets and sheets and others in body bags, were lined up on the ground outside a hospital. Video of rescued survivors, including a young girl in pyjamas and an older man covered in dust, was released by Turkish authorities. In Syria's Aleppo, staff at the Al-Razi hospital attended to a man with bruised eyes who said more than a dozen relatives including his father and mother were killed when the building they were in collapsed.
Erdogan, who has declared a state of emergency in 10 provinces and sent in troops to help, arrived in Kahramanmaras to view the damage and see the rescue and relief effort. He said there had been problems with roads and airports but "we are better today". However, the disaster poses a challenge to him in the May election that was already set to be the toughest fight of his two decades in power.
The death toll rose to 8,574 in Turkey on Wednesday, and in Syria the confirmed toll climbed to more than 2,500 overnight. Rescue workers have struggled to reach some of the worst-hit areas, held back by destroyed roads, poor weather and a lack of heavy equipment. In Jandaris in northern Syria, rescue workers and residents said dozens of buildings had collapsed, and relatives of people who had lived there said they had seen no one removed alive.
The quake toppled thousands of buildings including hospitals, schools and apartment blocks, injured tens of thousands, and left countless people homeless. Entire streets in Kahramanmaras, near the epicentre, were reduced to rubble, with plumes of smoke rising from fires across the town. Hundreds of tents were set up as shelter in a sporting venue. Reuters journalists saw around 50 bodies draped in blankets on the floor of a sports hall.
The disaster has caused immense devastation and despair in Turkey and Syria, leaving thousands dead and many more homeless. Rescue workers are struggling to reach some of the worst-hit areas, and the death toll is expected to increase. President Erdogan has declared a state of emergency and sent in troops to help, but the disaster poses a challenge to him in the upcoming election.
