Earth Quake in Turkiye

Death toll tops 45,000 in Turkish-Syrian earthquake
By Ulaş Ateşçi: Twelve days after two massive earthquakes in Kahramanmaraş struck southern Turkey and northern Syria, the death toll continues to rise. The quakes, measuring 7.7 and 7.6 magnitudes, devastated ten provinces in Turkey, bringing the death toll in the country to 39,672 as of yesterday, according to official figures. Syria, already devastated by the war for regime change waged since 2011 by the NATO powers, including Turkey, and the crippling sanctions imposed by the imperialist powers, was also severely hit by the quakes. Nearly 6,000 people lost their lives in the country, where the UN estimates that over 5 million people have been left homeless. Read More

Cheap opportunism: politicizing natural disasters
By Süleyman Seyfi Öğün: This earthquake is a national disaster. The dimensions are only recently becoming clear. The impacts it will have are unknown. An earthquake that hit at least 10 provinces will challenge all preparations and existing capacities. Hurricane Katrina, which hit the U.S. in 2005, had exceeded the world superpower’s capacity in multitudes and negated all official preparations. This earthquake is the same. It is nothing like anything we experienced before, including the Marmara earthquake. Surely there will be setbacks and shortcomings. But when we should be minimizing these with good intentions, that is not the case. Matters are immediately politicized. People start calling the ruling government during the disaster to answer for what happened. Really, is it the time and place? Using real cries, they ravingly and rancorously question and hold accountable the ruling government. Claiming, “They came [to power] with an earthquake, and they will go with an earthquake,” is what, if not cheap opportunism? Read More

Over 38,000 dead from powerful twin earthquakes in southern Türkiye
By Diyar Güldoğan: At least 38,044 people were killed by two strong earthquakes that jolted southern Türkiye on Feb. 6, the country's disaster agency said Thursday night. The magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 quakes were centered in Kahramanmaras and struck 10 other provinces – Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Hatay, Gaziantep, Malatya, Kilis, Osmaniye, Elazig and Sanliurfa. More than 13 million people have been affected by the devastating quakes. In yet another miraculous rescue, a woman was found alive after more than 10 days or 257 hours of twin earthquakes in southern Türkiye. Forty-two-year-old Neslihan Kilic was pulled from the rubble in central Kahramanmaras province on Thursday. Read More

Over 35,410 dead from powerful twin earthquakes in southern Türkiye
Anadolu Agency: At least 35,418 people were killed by two strong earthquakes that jolted southern Türkiye on Feb. 6, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday. More than 249,000 search and rescue personnel are currently working in the field, the Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD) said in a statement. Almost 195,962 people have been evacuated from the quake-hit regions so far, according to AFAD. Read More

Earthquake leaves millions homeless and without water & electricity in Turkish, Syrian harsh winter
BY JUAN COLE: Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Jordanian newspaper al-Ghad reports that on top of the now nearly 30,000 known deaths in Turkey and Syria, millions people are estimated to have been made homeless. Not only are they without shelter, they now lack water and electricity, and often even food and the World Health Organization (WHO) is afraid that a large number may die from exposure. Read More

Death toll from Turkey-Syria earthquake surpasses 25,000
Media Reports: The death toll from Monday's devastating earthquakes in Turkey and Syria is continuing to climb, surpassing 25,000 as of late Saturday, United Press International reported. Rescue crews on Saturday pulled more survivors, including entire families, from toppled buildings despite diminishing hopes as the death toll of the enormous quake that struck a border region of Turkey and Syria five days ago surpassed 25,000. Read More

Accumulated tension of hundreds of years moved Anatolia by 3m
Daily Sabah: Professor Harold Tobin, professor in the Department of Earth Sciences at Washington University and director of the Northwest Pacific Seismic Network, explained the magnitude and nature of the earthquakes in Kahramanmaraş, which affected 10 provinces. Tobin said that Anatolia was stuck between two fault lines. "In an earthquake that occurred hundreds of years later, centimetric movements turned into meters." Tobin explained the scientific facts behind the landslide. “Africa is moving north, Saudi Arabia is pushing the country east, which makes the plates move very slowly. This movement is centimetric every year, but these plates are stuck between fault lines. You know what happens when you try to push a heavy piece of furniture, first it resists, it doesn't move. This creates tension in the earth's crust but then releases all its energy in a minute or so when an earthquake occurs. A few meters of movement occurred along these fault lines. This was the accumulated tension of hundreds of years of plate tectonic movements." Read More

Turkey and Syria earthquake death toll passes 21,000
Media reports: The combined death toll in Turkey and Syria from Monday’s devastating earthquake rose to at least 21,000 after officials and medics in Turkey said 17,674 people had died in the country and figures published by the Syrian White Helmets group said 3,377 people had died in Syria. Read More

Death toll in Türkiye from earthquakes surpasses 12,000
Anadolu Agency: The number of people who died in powerful earthquakes in southern Türkiye has surpassed 12,000, a government agency said early Thursday. Türkiye's Disaster and Emergency Management Authority, AFAD, said 12,391 people were killed and 62,914 others were injured in Monday’s quakes centered in Kahramanmaras province. More than 6,000 buildings collapsed due to the 7.7 and 7.6 magnitude quakes that occurred in the space of less than 10 hours. More than 13 million people have been impacted by the quakes. Read More

Syria quake death toll surpasses 2,600 but many more still trapped
The death toll in Syria from a devastating earthquake has surpassed 2,600, according to Syrian state media and a rescue service operating in the opposition-held northwest. Reuters quoted the White Helmets rescue team as saying that the casualty toll in opposition-held areas has risen to more than 1,280 deaths and more than 2,600 injured. "The number is expected to rise significantly due to the presence of hundreds of families under the rubble, more than 50 hours after the earthquake," the White Helmets wrote onTwitter. Read More

Death toll from deadly quakes in Türkiye surpasses 5,800
Daily Sabah/Anadolu Agency: The death toll from the deadly earthquakes in Türkiye surpassed 5,800, Vice President Fuat Oktay said Tuesday. The number of people injured in the disaster hit 34,810, Oktay said in a news conference. Over 450,000 people have been sheltering in student dormitories, he added. In an earlier news conference, Orhan Tatar, head of Directorate of Earthquake and Risk Reduction said at least 435 aftershocks happened after the two major quakes. Some 60,217 emergency officials are working in the area, including 3,200 personnel from 65 countries, Tatar said. Read More

Death toll rises to 2,921 after magnitude 7.7 quake rocks SE Türkiye
By Daily Sabah with agencies: At least 2,921 people died Monday in Türkiye when two major earthquakes and 185 aftershocks struck the southeast of the country, officials said. Vice President Fuat Oktay said 2,921 people were killed and 15,834 others were injured following the earthquakes, which were felt in 11 provinces, including Malatya, Şanlıurfa, Osmaniye and Diyarbakır, although the toll threatened to climb much higher because of the heavy damage. Meanwhile, more than 783 people were killed and thousands injured in the Syrian regions of Aleppo, Hama and Latakia, the state news agency (SANA) said. Read More
 

HEADLINES

 The Journal of America Team:

 Editor in chief:
Abdus Sattar Ghazali

Senior Editor:
Prof. Arthur Scott

Special Correspondent
Maryam Turab