Turkey, Syria quake toll over 19,300

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ANTAKYA, Turkey, Feb 9, (AP): Tens of thousands of people who lost their homes in a catastrophic earthquake huddled around campfires in the bitter cold and clamored for food and water Thursday, three days after the temblor hit Turkey and Syria and killed more than 19,300. Emergency crews used pick axes, shovels and jackhammers to dig through twisted metal and concrete – and occasionally still pulled out survivors. But in some places, their focus shifted to demolishing unsteady buildings.

While stories of miraculous rescues briefly buoyed spirits, the grim reality of the hardship facing survivors cast a pall over devastated communities. The number of deaths surpassed the toll of a 2011 earthquake off Fukushima, Japan, that triggered a tsunami, killing more than 18,400 people. In northwest Syria, the first U.N. aid trucks to enter the rebel-controlled area from Turkey since the quake arrived, underscoring the difficulty of getting help to people in the country riven by civil war. In the Turkish city of Antakya, dozens scrambled for aid in front of a truck distributing children’s coats and other supplies. One survivor, Ahmet Tokgoz, called for the government to evacuate people from the region.

Many of those who have lost their homes found shelter in tents, stadiums and other temporary accommodation, but others have slept outdoors. “Especially in this cold, it is not possible to live here,” he said. “If people haven’t died from being stuck under the rubble, they’ll die from the cold.” Winter weather and damage to roads and airports have hampered the response in both Turkey and Syria. Some in Turkey have complained the response was too slow – a perception that could hurt President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at a time when he faces a tough battle for reelection in May.

Response
Erdogan on Wednesday acknowledged “shortcomings” in his country’s response to the world’s deadliest earthquake in more than a decade as hope dwindled that more survivors would emerge from the rubble of thousands of toppled buildings. Erdogan visited the especially hard-hit Hatay province, where more than 3,300 people died and entire neighborhoods were destroyed. Residents there have criticized the government’s efforts, saying rescuers were slow to arrive.

Erdogan, who faces a tough battle for reelection in May, reacted to the mounting frustration by acknowledging problems with the emergency response to Monday’s 7.8-magnitude quake but said the winter weather had been a factor. The earthquake also destroyed the runway at Hatay’s airport, further disrupting the response. “It is not possible to be prepared for such a disaster,” Erdogan said. “We will not leave any of our citizens uncared for.” He also hit back at critics, saying “dishonorable people” were spreading “lies and slander” about the government’s actions. Turkish authorities said they were targeting disinformation, and an internet monitoring group said access to Twitter was restricted despite it being used by survivors to alert rescuers.

In the Turkish town of Elbistan, rescuers stood atop the rubble from a collapsed home and pulled out an elderly woman. Teams urged quiet in the hopes of hearing stifled pleas for help, and the Syrian paramedic group known as the White Helmets noted that “every second could mean saving a life.” But more and more often, the teams pulled out dead bodies. In Antakya, over 100 bodies were awaiting identification in a makeshift morgue outside a hospital. With the chances of finding people alive in the rubble dwindling, teams in some places began demolishing buildings.

Trapped
In Adiyaman, Associated Press journalists saw a resident plead with rescuers to look through the rubble of a building where relatives were trapped. The crew refused, saying there was no one alive there, and they had to prioritize areas where there may be survivors. A man, who gave only his name as Ahmet out of fear of government retribution, later asked the AP: “How can I go home and sleep? My brother is there. He may still be alive.”

In Nurdagi, throngs of onlookers – mostly family members of people trapped inside – watched as heavy machines ripped at one building that had collapsed, its six floors pancaked together. Mehmet Yilmaz watched from a distance, estimating that around 80 people were still beneath the rubble but that it was unlikely any would be found alive.

“There’s no hope,” said Yilmaz, 67, who had six relatives, including a 3-month-old baby, trapped inside. “We can’t give up our hope in God, but they entered the building with listening devices and dogs, and there was nothing.” Authorities called off search-and-rescue operations in the cities of Kilis and Sanliurfa, where destruction was not as severe as in other impacted regions.

Across the border in Syria, assistance trickled in. The U.N. is authorized to deliver aid through only one border crossing, and road damage has prevented that thus far. U.N. officials pleaded for humanitarian concerns to take precedence over wartime politics. The scale of loss and suffering remained massive. Turkish authorities said Thursday that the death toll had risen to more than 16,100 in the country, with more than 64,000 injured. In Syria, which includes government-held and rebel-held areas, more than 3,100 have been reported dead and more than 5,000 injured.

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