'Buildings folded like paper towels': Turkish survivors recount earthquake experiences
Recounting the harrowing experience of surviving yesterday's devastating earthquake, Turkish survivors said that the jolt left buildings "folding like paper towels."
Turkiye began the new week with a devastating and deadly 7.8-magnitude earthquake — one of the most powerful to hit the region in decades — killing thousands of people in the country and in neighhboring Syria, reports Arab News.
"I live in Seyrantepe district of Diyarbakir where buildings were relatively new and we didn't have so much damage inside the houses. But the building next to our school was about an eight-story old building where more than 200 people were living. It folded like a paper tower in seconds," said Ozcan Karakoc, a survivor of the earthquake.
"Please stop, it is such a strong quake, please stop," cried another survivor in a video capturing lights and furniture shaking in her home. The survivor, Berjin, said that she was left waiting outside her destroyed home in minus 15 degrees Celsius temperatures after the second quake.
Her building was one of many in the city that had yet to be renovated following a 2011 earthquake, which killed hundreds of people.
"We stayed long hours outside, but had to come back home due to the freezing weather conditions in the city," another survivor named Berrak Demirel said.
Misel Uyar, a resident of Iskenderun, a town in southern Hatay provice, said that a hospital in the area was destroyed in the quake, with health workers and patients inside. Several new buildings collapsed despite having supposedly been built to modern standards, he added.
Renate Cavdar, a music teacher in southeastern Gaziantep province, was surprised at the severity of the quake.
"It was felt so strongly. Several roads are blocked because they were damaged by the earthquake, and bulldozers have to clear the debris to open the passage," she added.
"In Islahiye district, a building where an old relative was living collapsed. We are now trying to reach the area to get information from her," Cavdar said.
Niyazi Buluter, a civil society activist for the Roma community in Gaziantep, lost six relatives in the quake, including children.
"I have been informed that some family died as the old building they were residing collapsed in seconds during the quake. Low-income people were residing in this district," said Buluter, adding, "Several buildings also collapsed in our area. There were some cracks in our one-story house. But we couldn't stand during the quake. It was so strong. I have a disabled child; I took him in my arms and ran out of the house quickly. May God protect poor people."
Volkan Demirel, technical director of Hatayspor football team, appealed for humanitarian assistance in an emotional video posted on social media.
"I have been in touch with Turkish officials to relay that we stand ready to provide any and all needed assistance," White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said on Twitter.
"We will continue to closely monitor the situation in coordination with Turkiye," he added.
About 3,000 buildings were destroyed in the earthquake.
According to data from the US Geological Survey, the quake struck on Monday (6 February), 23km east of Nurdagi, Gaziantep province, at a depth of 24.1 km, The earthquake also devastated parts of Syria, claiming hundreds of lives in the country. Lebanon, Jordan, Israel and Egypt were also affected. There was another 7.5-magnitude earthquake at noon on Monday, with the epicenter recorded near Turkiye's southeastern Kahramanmaras province.
Turkiye stopped oil flow to the southern Ceyhan export terminal as a precaution. Turkish armed forces set up an air aid corridor in the earthquake zone. Several countries expressed solidarity with Turkiye after Monday's earthquake.
The country declared a level four alert and requested international help through the Emergency Response Coordination Center, the EU's civil protection programme. In response, 45 countries offered to help in search and rescue efforts.
