Turkey in devastation after multiple earthquakes strike

Numerous strong earthquakes decimated multiple cities and regions nationwide in Turkey. “I think [the earthquakes] were horrible because so many people lost their homes,” said Nina Rouis, a Walter Johnson High School sophomore. “[It] killed many people and hurt even more,” said Thomas S. Wootton High School freshman Mairead Nunes.

The first earthquake struck the Kahramanmaraş region and Hatay province on Feb. 6 early morning and had a magnitude of 7.8. Then a few minutes later, an aftershock with a magnitude of 6.7 followed. Within nine hours, another aftershock hit another region with a magnitude of 7.5.

Two weeks later, two more deadly earthquakes, magnitudes of 6.4 and 5.8, hit the southern province of Hatay and Syria. 

These earthquakes have killed around 45,000, wounded even more, and made millions homeless. It also destroyed at least 47,000 buildings, including schools and hospitals. Countless are missing, lacking necessities, are unreachable. Furthermore, thousands of families are separated, and even more, children are orphaned.

Fortunately, many countries are stepping in to help. The US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced on Feb. 19 $100 million for earthquake relief funding. Among many others, the UK has sent £25 million and deployed its International Search and rescue team to assist Turkey. “I think the US and UK are doing the right thing,” said Thomas S. Wootton High School freshman Isabelle Salita.

In addition, the UN launched a $400 million appeal to help Syria. Then on Feb. 16, they made a $1 billion request to aid Turkey along with food, shelter, and clothing, among other necessities. “We even had a donation drive at WJ, money, and supply-wise,” said Rouis.

Along with that, many rescue and reuniting operations were successful, along with miracle survivor stories. Mustafa Avci and Mehmet Ali Sakiroglu survived the rubbles of a hospital in Hatay province. On Feb. 15 in Antakya, rescuers saved a 13-year-old boy named Mustafa, who was trapped for nine and a half days after the first earthquake struck. He survived and is now recovering.

Though the rescue operations were successful, many point out that disaster control could be better. First, there was a delay in commencing search and rescue operations, and faced many obstacles causing them days to reach the affected villages. 

Moreover, Turkey, warned for years that a potentially dangerous earthquake would hit, knew something like this could happen.“Turkey sits on this convergence between three tectonic plates, which makes it more susceptible to powerful earthquakes,” said Rouis.

Not only that, but experts had warned that many of Turkey’s new buildings were not safe. Yet multiple contractors got away with ignoring building regulations.

Turkey is currently trying to address the issue by issuing arrest warrants to those related to the construction of collapsed buildings. Turkish law enforcement has made at least 113 arrest warrants and apprehended 12 building contractors.  

Now LA county is taking preventative measures by updating its building codes. It will require building owners to submit reports and plans, such as structural evaluation reports and plans to retrofit or demolish buildings. Even public works must submit information and devise initiatives supporting property owners. 

Though Turkey is recovering, it still has a long way to go. “I hope they recover from this earthquake as quickly as possible,” Salita said. 

“I think that the world can learn from this experience… to prevent millions more people from dying or getting injured,” said Rouis.

Written by Anushka Gulla of Thomas S. Wootton High School

Image courtesy of Flickr