Page 4 - Turkey

Quake death toll tops 37,000 in Turkey, Syria; survivors still being found

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has agreed to open two border crossings so that aid can reach to the affected areas in the region

As search progresses, more survivors found in Turkiye on 8th day of quake

Rescuers on Tuesday were working to reach people under the rubble in three provinces hit hard by the devastating quakes that hit Turkiye and Syria last Monday. The death toll from the magnitude 7.8 and 7.5 quakes that struck nine hours apart on Feb. 6 in southeastern Turkiye and northern Syria passed 35,000, and was certain to increase as search teams find more bodies. Turkish television continued broadcasting rescues Tuesday, as experts said the window to find survivors is closing. In Adiyaman province, rescuers reached 18-year-old Muhammed Cafer Cetin, and medics gave him an IV with fluids before attempting a dangerous extraction from a building that crumbled further as rescuers were working. Medics surrounded him to place a neck brace and he was on a stretcher with an oxygen mask, making it out to daylight on the 199th hour. We are so happy, his uncle said. Two others were rescued from one building that's been destroyed in central Kahramanmaras, near the epicenter, Tuesday some

Medical equipment despatched to Turkey, Syria: Union Health Ministry

India has sent emergency relief material comprising life-saving medicines, protective items and critical care equipment valued at over Rs 7 crore to quake-hit Turkiye and Syria, the Union Health Ministry said on Tuesday. Highlighting the efforts of his ministry in providing emergency relief material to Turkiye and Syria, Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya tweeted, India is providing assistance to the two countries in the spirit of its age-old tradition of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam. On February 6, three truck loads of relief materials were arranged at the Hindon air base comprising life-saving emergency medicines and protective items within 12 hours, the ministry said in a statement. The 5,945-ton emergency relief material included 27 life-saving medicines, two kinds of protective items and three categories of critical care equipments, valued at approximately Rs 2 crore, the statement said. On February 10, a bigger lot of relief materials was arranged for both Turkiye and Syria. The ...

Turkey not to accept more refugees from Syria after earthquakes: FM

Turkey has offered to the United Nations to open two more border gates into Syria through Turkey's southern province of Kilis, but the gates would serve one way into Syria for humanitarian aid

Twitter's plan to charge for crucial tool prompts outcry from volunteers

In the aftermath of the devastating earthquake in Turkey and Syria, thousands of volunteer software developers have been using a crucial Twitter tool to comb the platform for calls for help including from people trapped in collapsed buildings and connect people with rescue organisations. They could lose access as soon as Monday unless they pay Twitter a monthly fee of at least $100 prohibitive for many volunteers and nonprofits on shoestring budgets. That's not just for rescue efforts which unfortunately we're coming to the end of, but for logistics planning too as people go to Twitter to broadcast their needs, said Sedat Kapanoglu, the founder of Eksi Sozluk, Turkey's most popular social platform, who has been advising some of the volunteers in their efforts. Nonprofits, researchers and others need the tool, known as the API, or Application Developer Interface, to analyze Twitter data because the sheer amount of information makes it impossible for a human to go through by ...

Search for survivors enters final hours in Turkey, a week after earthquake

The desperate search for earthquake survivors in Turkiye and Syria entered its final hours Monday as rescuers using sniffer dogs and thermal cameras surveyed pulverised apartment blocks for any sign of life a week after the disaster. Teams in southern Turkiye's Hatay province cheered and clapped when a 13-year-old boy identified only by his first name, Kaan, was pulled from the rubble. In Gaziantep province, rescue workers, including coal miners who secured tunnels with wooden supports, found a woman alive in the wreckage of a five-story building. Stories of such rescues have flooded the airwaves in recent days. But tens of thousands of dead have been found during the same period, and experts say the window for rescues has nearly closed, given the length of time that has passed, the fact that temperatures have fallen to minus 6 degrees Celsius (21 degrees Fahrenheit) and the severity of the building collapses. The 7.8 magnitude earthquake and its aftershocks struck southeastern ...

Earthquake survivors in Turkey, Syria face despair, as rescues wane

Thousands left homeless by a massive earthquake that struck Turkiye and Syria a week ago packed into crowded tents or lined up in the streets for hot meals on Monday, while the desperate search for anyone still alive likely entered its last hours. A crew wrested a four-year-old girl from rubble in hard-hit Adiyaman, 177 hours after the 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck. The rescuers were among thousands of local and overseas teams, including Turkish coal miners and experts aided by sniffer dogs and thermal cameras, who scoured pulverized apartment blocks for signs of life. While stories of near-miraculous rescues have flooded the airwaves in recent days many broadcast live on Turkish television and beamed around the world tens of thousands of dead have been found during the same period. Experts say given the freezing temperatures and the total collapse of so many buildings the window for such rescues is nearly shut. The quake and hundreds of aftershocks, some nearly as powerful a

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As survival window closes, more people rescued in earthquake in Turkey

Rescue crews on Monday pulled a 40-year-old woman from the wreckage of a building a week after two powerful earthquakes struck, but reports of rescues are coming less often as the time since the quake reaches the limits of the human body's ability to survive without water, especially in sub-freezing temperatures. The magnitude 7.8 and 7.5 quakes struck nine hours apart in southeastern Turkiye and northern Syria on Feb. 6. They killed at least 33,185, with the toll expected to rise considerably as search teams find more bodies, and reduced much of towns and cities inhabited by millions to fragments of concrete and twisted metal. On Monday rescuers pulled a 40-year-old woman from the wreckage of a 5-story building in the town of Islahiye, in Gaziantep province. The woman, Sibel Kaya, was rescued after spending 170 hours beneath the rubble by a mixed crew that included members of Turkiye's coal mine rescue team. Earlier, a 60-year-woman, Erengul Onder, was also pulled out from the rubb

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Turkey probes contractors as earthquake death toll breaches 33,000 mark

Turkish authorities are targeting contractors allegedly linked with buildings that collapsed in the powerful February 6 earthquakes as rescuers found more survivors in the rubble Sunday, including a pregnant woman and two children, in the disaster that killed over 33,000 people. The death toll from the magnitude 7.8 and 7.5 quakes that struck nine hours apart in southeastern Turkey and northern Syria rose to 33,185 and was certain to increase as search teams find more bodies. As despair bred rage at the agonisingly slow rescues, the focus turned to assigning blame. Turkish Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag said 131 people were under investigation for their alleged responsibility in the construction of buildings that failed to withstand the quakes. While the quakes were powerful, many in Turkey blame faulty construction for multiplying the devastation. Turkey's construction codes meet current earthquake-engineering standards, at least on paper, but they are rarely enforced. Among those

Erdogan faces major challenge as earthquake change election scene in Turkey

President Erdogan tried to calm the anger of earthquake victims saying that "Such things always happened. It's part of destiny's plan"

Another 4.7 magnitude quake hits Turkey even as it continues rescue ops

An earthquake of magnitude 4.7 struck Turkey's southern city of Kahramanmaras on Sunday (local time), according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS)

Turkey cracks down on builders; cost of earthquake pegged at 10% of GDP

Death toll in Turkey, Syria crosses 33,000; UN sees this rising to 50,000

Death toll in Turkey, Syria crosses 33,000-mark as rescue ops continue

Ibrahim Zakaria lost track of time drifting into and out of consciousness while trapped for nearly five days in the rubble of his home following the massive earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria this week. The 23-year-old cellphone shop worker from the Syrian town of Jableh survived on dirty drips of water and eventually lost hope that he'd be saved. "I said I am dead and it will be impossible for me to live again," Zakaria, who was rescued Friday night, told The Associated Press on Saturday from his bed at a hospital in the coastal city of Latakia where his 60-year-old mother, Duha Nurallah, was also recovering. Five days after two powerful earthquakes hours apart caused thousands of buildings to collapse, killing more than 28,000 people and leaving millions homeless, rescuers were still pulling unlikely survivors from the ruins. Although each rescue elicited hugs and shouts of "Allahu akbar!" "God is great!" from the weary men and women working tirelessly in the freezing ...

Germany to ease visa conditions for few earthquake victims in Turkey, Syria

The German government wants to temporarily ease visa restrictions for survivors of the earthquake in Turkiye and Syria who have close family ties to Germany if they are facing homelessness or were injured. It's about helping in times of need. We want to make it possible for Turkish or Syrian families in Germany to bring close relatives from the disaster region, German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser tweeted late Saturday. They can find shelter with us and receive medical treatment, Faeser said. With regular visas, which are issued quickly and are valid for three months. However, not all the requirements of a regular visa procedure are being waived. Applicants must still be able to present a valid passport likely to be an obstacle for people who fled collapsing buildings. Several million people in Germany have Turkish roots because, more than 60 years ago, West Germany recruited guest workers from Turkey and elsewhere to help the country advance economically. More recently, hundred

India's exports to Turkey may get impacted in short run due to earthquake

India's merchandise exports of commodities such as cotton, manmade yarn and textile dyes may be impacted in the short run to earthquake-hit Turkiye, according to exporters. Two powerful earthquakes hours apart on Monday last week caused widespread destruction of property and killed more than 28,000 people, leaving millions homeless in Turkiye. The earthquakes also caused damage to the infrastructure and logistics network with the Port of Iskenderun remaining closed for around a week. Exports to Turkiye increased to USD 6.2 billion during April-November 2022 against USD 5.1 billion in the corresponding period in 2021. Federation of Indian Export Organisations (Fieo) Director General Ajay Sahai said that the extent of the damage in Turkiye is yet not known and thus its impact on exports is difficult to ascertain. However, the earthquake will further depreciate Turkish Lira , which has significantly depreciated recently, and has touched its record low following the earthquake making

Turkey issues warrant against 130 building contractors 6 days after quakes

As rescuers still pulled a lucky few from the rubble six days after a pair of earthquakes devastated southeast Turkiye and northern Syria, Turkish officials detained or issued arrest warrants for some 130 people allegedly involved in the construction of buildings that toppled down and crushed their occupants. The death toll from Monday's quakes stood at 28,191 with another 80,000-plus injured as of Sunday morning and was certain to rise as bodies kept emerging. As despair also bred rage at the agonizingly slow rescue efforts, the focus turned to who was to blame for not better preparing people in the earthquake-prone region that includes an area of Syria that was already suffering from years of civil war. Even though Turkiye has, on paper, construction codes that meet current earthquake-engineering standards, they are too rarely enforced, explaining why thousands of buildings slumped onto their side or pancaked downward onto residents. Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay said late

Devastating earthquakes in Turkey is only the latest tragedy for refugees

When war broke out in Ukraine, Aydin Sisman's relatives there fled to the ancient city of Antakya, in a southeastern corner of Turkiye that borders Syria. They may have escaped one disaster, but another found them in their new home. They were staying with Sisman's Ukrainian mother-in-law when their building collapsed last Monday as a 7.8 magnitude earthquake levelled much of Antakya and ravaged the region in what some in Turkiye are calling the disaster of the century. We have Ukrainian guests who fled the war, and they are also lying inside. We have had no contact, said Sisman, whose Turkish father-in-law also was trapped under the rubble of the 10-year-old apartment building. As rescuers dig through heaps of rubble, Sisman appeared to have lost hope. Millions of refugees, like Sisman's relatives, have found a haven in Turkiye, escaping from wars and local conflicts from countries as close as Syria to as far afield as Afghanistan. There are at least 3.6 million Syrians who have

Armenia-Turkey reopen border gate for 1st time in 3 decades for quake aid

Turkey and Armenia opened their border gate for the first time in 30 years for the passage of humanitarian aid for the victims affected by the devastating earthquakes that hit the former