Another Earthquake Hits Turkey and Syria
More buildings destroyed after the 6.3 earthquake.
A new 6.3 and 5.8 Earthquake hit southern Turkey and across the border in Syria, 2 weeks after the 7.8 and 7.6 earthquakes that hit on February 6th.
On Monday the 6.3 quake hit the city of Defne in Hatay province at 8:04 pm local time (17:04 GMT) and was strongly felt in the provincial capital, Antakya. Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD) said a magnitude 5.8 quake followed three minutes later.
On Tuesday, AFAD chief Yunus Sezer raised the death toll in Turkey from three to six and said that 294 people were wounded. Due to the walls of buildings being damaged from the previous earthquake. This earthquake is causing damaged buildings to collapse.
However, things in Syria aren’t better. The White Helmets, or Syria Civil Defense, is a collective of volunteers working to provide aid in the aftermath of a devastating earthquake. On their Twitter, they tweeted:
1/2- 130+ civilians injured in NW #Syria with cases of fractures, bruises, fainting, and fear & panic as a result of the #earthquake that struck the region this evening, Monday, February 20. A number of buildings damaged of collapsed walls and buildings in the affected areas. pic.twitter.com/IZfAo50XdY
— The White Helmets (@SyriaCivilDef) February 20, 2023
The US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Turkey on Monday and announced $100m would be put into humanitarian aid, saying that America would help with earthquake recovery “for as long as it takes”.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan’s plan to rebuild quickly after the earthquakes. “We will rebuild these buildings within one year and hand them back to citizens,” he said. However the estimated cost may be as high as $100 billion and according to Eyup Muhcu, head of the architects’ chamber at the Union of Chambers of Turkish Engineers and Architects. The disaster damaged 3.4 million buildings and half of them will have to be demolished. “In order to rebuild these homes, you also have to build infrastructure and public facilities, so we can speak of a preliminary estimated cost of $100 billion for reconstruction.”
However, there are ways to help. You could read this article to learn more ways to make a difference in wake of the disaster.
