Staff Writer
Michael Volpicelli
Turkish Earthquake and the aftermath
Monday, February 6th a devastating earthquake hit Turkey and Syria that has the world sending their prayers for the health and safety of all being affected by it. The earthquake shook these two countries early in the morning around four o’clock in the morning.
The earthquake was clocked in at a 7.8 magnitude and spanned over 14 miles of the Turkish eastern coast. With all earthquakes the aftershock that followed the initial quake came in hours later with a magnitude of 6.7. Over 125 more aftershocks have been recorded since the initial earthquake.
This earthquake is one of the most devastating and powerful to hit in this region of the world leading to more than five thousand buildings being destroyed in Turkey while causing a panic for all residents in the area.
There have been thousands of deaths so far after the initial shock and rescue teams are still trying to pull people out of the rubble from collapsed buildings and people who cannot maneuver through the streets.
Some of the reasons this earthquake has been so lethal is because of the time of it and the buildings it collapsed. Since people were tucked into bed for the night there was no way for people to prepare or brace themselves for the earthquake. The buildings that the earthquake collapsed mainly include residential buildings and factories.
Many people are trapped under the rubble of their own homes and with the cold temperatures, rescuers are trying to save people as fast as possible with the risk of dying of hypothermia.
Because people are trapped under rubble, they have gone days without food or water on top of trying to combat the cold temperatures in any way they can while they wait to be saved by rescuers.
Under Turkey’s southeastern regions they have two large tectonic plates, the Eurasian and Arabian that meet and when two tectonic plates meet and rub against each other they can sometimes cause shifting and this is what causes most earthquakes to occur.
This earthquake in Turkey is currently ranked 7th in terms of casualties with the number being at 22,000 deaths so far. The total damage cost cannot be found out yet but considering the level of this earthquake it is estimated to be in the billions.
With so many casualties and the damages this earthquake has caused it is one of the most devastating earthquakes or natural disasters to ever take place on earth. As more time passes more and more people will lose their lives or loved ones because of this disaster. Our thoughts and prayers are being sent to the people of Turkey and Syria in hopes that the rescue teams can save as many people as possible and quickly.