Yesterday morning around 06.00 two earthquakes, four tremors ranging from 6,4 to 7,7 shook ten different cities between Turkey and Syria. Erdogan: “the most disastrous earthquake since 1938”.
The terrible earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria yesterday morning was devastating with 4372 dead. The bulletin of the deceased is unfortunately constantly updated and is inexorably destined to rise. The wounded number around 16. We continue to dig through the rubble to try and rescue those who are still showing signs of life.
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The President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared 7 days of national mourning, schools across the country will remain closed until next February 13th.
Turkey is crossed by two faults, the Anatolian and the African, to the north and south, generated by the split of the Arabian plate which coincides with the southeast of the country.
Hatay, Gaziantep, Kilis, Urfa, Adiyaman, Osmaniye, Malatya, Kahramanmaras, Adana, Diyarbakir they are the main cities that have suffered the greatest damage and which contribute to populate the data referring to the victims.
The rescue machine was immediately triggered, thanks to the Turkish civil protection AFAD. AFAD announced that the first shock, of magnitude 7,7, struck at 4:17 in the morning (Rome +2), epicenter in Pazarcik, in the province of Kahramanmaras, at a depth of 7 km. The second tremor hit Gaziantep a few minutes later, with a magnitude of 6,4, followed by a third earthquake with a magnitude of 6.5. A 7.5 quake shook Kahramanmaras province again 7 hours later, the peak of an earthquake swarm that recorded more than 150 aftershocks
Shocks felt in Iraq, Lebanon, Cyprus and Egypt and that in Syria they recorded at least a thousand deaths.
Erdogan arrived on a flight from Istanbul to the headquarters of the AFAD presidency, where he took over the coordination of operations.
The reaction of the international community
Erdogan has communicated to the press that he has received aid proposals from 45 countries outside NATO and the European Union.
La Germany was the first to offer help, followed by the Greece, France e Israel. In such a dramatic moment, the enmities of the past have passed on the sly to make room for the network of solidarity with concrete aid in the field. The phone calls from have not gone into the background Volodymyr Zelensky and the Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
"I learned with deep sadness and am following the news of the earthquake which has so seriously affected the south-eastern area of Turkey, causing numerous victims and injuries. In this moment of mourning, Italy is close, with sentiments of sympathetic solidarity, to the pain of the friendly Turkish people". The President of the Republic writes it Sergio Mattarella in a message to the Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
In a tweet, the European Commissioner for Emergency Management, Janez Lenarcic announces the activation of the Mechanism of the European Civil Protection. "The EU Emergency Response Coordination Center is coordinating the deployment of rescue teams from Europe. The teams from the Netherlands and Romania are already on their way."
"We are working to provide the availability of our teams with the National Fire Brigade to intervene. We have, activated by the European mechanism, given our availability. We are waiting to see if these teams are accepted. The mechanism works like this: there is the requesting country, in this case Turkey. Other countries that deliver, including Italy. And then Turkey will decide, depending on proximity and other parameters, who to accept". So Fabrizio Curcio, head of the Civil Protection department a little while ago on Rai Radio1 in the Special Gr1 dedicated to the earthquake in Turkey and Syria. And then again: "The teams are variable, we try to characterize them on the basis of requests and places. They are very specialized personnel on search and rescue”.
London is ready to send aid to the earthquake zones in Turkey and Syria, the premier writes on Twitter Rishi sunak.
"Allies are now mobilizing their support“. The secretary general of the Atlantic Alliance writes it in a tweet, Jens Stoltenberg.
"I am deeply saddened to learn this morning of the devastating earthquake that has hit parts of Turkey and Syria. My deepest condolences to the many families who lost their lives and best wishes for a speedy recovery to the injured. The EU is fully in solidarity with you". The President of the European Council writes it in a tweet, Charles Michel. The president of the European Parliament also joins in the condolences Roberta Metsola. "I am deeply saddened by the terrible earthquake on the Turkish-Syrian border. My thoughts are with those killed, those trapped, those injured and all the rescuers doing their best to save lives. Europe stands by the Turkish and Syrian people in this moment of difficulty”.