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Turkey-Syria earthquake: Death toll tops 41,000, Erdogan under fire for shoddy construction
The death toll from the earthquake has crossed 41,000 as public anger in Turkey is directed towards their government for allowing property developers to build thousands of shoddy structures which were brutally exposed during the earthquake.
7 min read
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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the state needed to enforce stricter building regulations in the country as he faces growing criticism for allegedly regularising thousands of poorly-built structures over the past several years.
The combined death toll in Turkey and Syria has climbed over 41,000, and many survivors are enduring near-freezing winter temperatures as they have been left homeless by the devastation in cities in both countries. Hundreds of thousands of others have been injured, as rescue and recovery efforts continue to press on.
Several reports have surfaced over the past few days that Erdogan is facing a severe backlash at home for granting an amnesty to companies that had constructed shoddy buildings, which were brutally exposed during last week's earthquakes.
Erdoğan is facing a growing backlash for overseeing a 2018 amnesty programme that forgave faults in millions of buildings across Turkey, regularising poor construction practices that were brutally exposed in last week’s earthquake.https://t.co/u0Siv6X5T4
— Katie Martin (@katie_martin_fx) February 14, 2023
In a televised speech on Tuesday, the Turkish President said that "collapsed buildings reminded the government of the need for stricter construction rules."
The damage assessment would be completed within a week and reconstruction would start in three months, he said.
"We will rebuild all the houses and workplaces, destroyed or made uninhabitable by the earthquake, and hand them over to the rightful owners," he added.
Prosecutors have reportedly issued arrest warrants for scores of property developers as the death toll continues to rise.
5:40 PM
5:12 PM
Misinformation 'hindering relief efforts' after Turkey-Syria quake: UK fact-checkers
Misinformation across social media platforms is "hindering earthquake relief efforts" in Turkey, according to an editor at a British fact-checking charity.
False information posted online may "ruin lives" as it could see relief efforts for the 7.8-magnitude quake that hit Syria and Turkey misdirected, Full Fact's assistant editor Abbas Panjwani wrote in an opinion piece for The Guardian published Tuesday.
False social media posts are hindering earthquake relief efforts in Turkey. You can help stop that | Abbas Panjwani https://t.co/xa545OwmIg
— Guardian Opinion (@guardianopinion) February 14, 2023
"False information can directly hinder aid and disaster relief… it’s crucial that those working on the relief efforts have access to good information online… When bad information spreads, it can ruin lives," Panjwani wrote.
"People and organisations may be using footage they see online to help identify those affected… the last thing they need to see is their social media feeds clogged with misinformation," he added.
Read the full story here.
2:43 PM
Disease the new threat as Turkey faces post-earthquake water shortage
With much of the region's sanitation infrastructure damaged or rendered inoperable by last Monday's two 7.8- and 7.6-magnitude earthquakes, Turkish health authorities face a daunting task in trying to ensure that survivors, many homeless, now remain disease-free.
Akin Hacioglu, a doctor at the clinic of an open-air stadium serving as a camp for displaced people in the city of Kahramanmaras told Reuters between 15 and 30 medics operated the facility, the only one of its kind at the camp, which serves up to 10,000 people during the day.
They are offering tetanus shots to residents who request them, and distributing hygiene kits with shampoo, deodorant, pads and wipes, Hacioglu said.
Several earthquake survivors told the news agency that they had not been able to rinse off or clean themselves, or even change their clothes since the earthquake.
In the city of Antakya, further south towards the Syrian border, greater numbers of portable toilets are in evidence than during the first days after the quake, but many residents say still more are needed.
Batyr Berdyklychev, the World Health Organization's representative in Turkey, said the water shortage "increases the risk of waterborne diseases and outbreaks of communicable diseases."
The WHO was working with local authorities to step up monitoring of waterborne diseases, seasonal influenza and COVID-19 among those displaced, he added.
(Reuters)
1:22 PM
Armenia's humanitarian aid could help restore ties with Turkey: Turkish foreign minister
Humanitarian aid sent by Armenia for victims of last week's devastating earthquake in Turkey could boost the neighbouring countries' efforts to normalise their relations, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Wednesday.
A border gate between the long-feuding neighbours was opened for the first time in 35 years to allow aid for quake victims in southern Turkey. Armenia also sent a rescue team to Turkey to help in the search for survivors.
🇦🇲🇹🇷 For the supply of humanitarian aid: the border between Turkey and Armenia was opened for the first time in 35 years. pic.twitter.com/pGysqkbP7V
— Mike (@Doranimated) February 11, 2023
For 30 years, the land crossing between Turkey and Armenia has been closed to traffic as a result of tensions.
— Gabriel Gavin (@GabrielCSGavin) February 11, 2023
Now, for the first time in three decades, a convoy of trucks has rolled across the Margara Bridge — bringing humanitarian aid to earthquake victims. pic.twitter.com/OGy4ZVMBTb
"Armenia has extended its hand of friendship, showed solidarity and cooperation with us in this difficult time ... We need to continue this solidarity," Cavusoglu said at a joint news conference in Ankara with his Armenian counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan.
"The normalisation process in the southern Caucasus region is going on. We believe that our cooperation in the humanitarian field will support this process," Cavusoglu added.
Mirzoyan said through a translator that Armenia remained committed to "the full normalisation of relations and complete opening of the border with Turkey".
12:25 PM
Syrian tribes get quake aid across frontline to northwest
An aid convoy has reached earthquake-hit northwestern Syria from the eastern Deir ez-Zor province, an example of assistance making it across a frontline of the country's 11-year-long civil war since the disaster struck more than a week ago.
Organised by Arab tribes, trucks loaded with blankets, food, medical supplies and tents arrived overnight in the insurgent-held rebel northwest from a region controlled by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a Reuters witness said.
More aid was being collected, said Hamoud Saleh al-Darjah, an organiser. The aid would be distributed in the north without discrimination, he said. "This isn't the last campaign," he said.
(Reuters)
11:45 AM
Turkey arrests 78 over earthquake social media posts
Turkish police said they have arrested 78 people accused of creating fear and panic by "sharing provocative posts" about last week's earthquake on social media, adding 20 of them were being held in pre-trial detention.
The death toll in Turkey and Syria from the devastating earthquake has climbed above 41,000, and millions are in need of humanitarian aid.
Turkey's General Directorate of Security said it had identified 613 people accused of making provocative posts, and legal proceedings had been initiated against 293. Of this group, the chief prosecutor had ordered the arrest of 78.
The directorate added that 46 websites were shut down for running "phishing scams" trying to steal donations for quake victims and 15 social media accounts posing as official institutions were closed.
Last week Turkey blocked access to Twitter for about 12 hours from Wednesday afternoon to early Thursday, citing the spread of disinformation, prompting an angry response from opposition politicians and people using the platform to find loved ones and share information about rescue efforts.
10:57 AM
Gilboa prison-breakers offer condolences to earthquake victims
Two of six Palestinians who broke out of a high-security Israeli prison in September 2021 have offered their condolences to the victims of the devastating Turkey-Syria earthquake.
Gilboa Prison escapees Mahmoud Al-Ardah and Yaqoub Al-Qadri said in an Israeli court during appeal proceedings Tuesday: "We offer condolences to the Syrian and Turkish peoples… we count the victims as martyrs."
9:26 AM
Jordan's foreign minister arrives in Syria to show 'solidarity' in first high-level visit since Syrian conflict began
Jordan's foreign minister Ayman Safadi arrived in Syria on Wednesday in a "show of solidarity" after the quake that killed thousands of people in Syria and Turkey countries.
Jordan, which neighbours Syria, has sent large shipments of aid to both countries with the kingdom sending a medical hospital to Turkey and organising several large aid convoys through the country's northern border crossing with Syria.
#BREAKING | #Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad receives his #Jordanian counterpart, Ayman Safadi, in #Damascus.#Syria #Jordan pic.twitter.com/XgeEYx3rxz
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) February 15, 2023
The visit by Safadi to Damascus is the first such trip by a top Jordanian official to Syria since the more than decade-long conflict that devastated Syria and saw both sides take opposing camps.
"Safadi will discuss the humanitarian and aid needs that the two countries need," a statement from the foreign ministry said before his arrival in Damascus, adding that another aid plane will fly to both countries on Wednesday.
(Reuters)
9:15 AM
Woman rescued from ruins in Turkey 222 hours after powerful quake
A 42-year-old woman was rescued from the rubble of a building in the southern Turkish city of Kahramanmaras on Wednesday, almost 222 hours after a devastating earthquake struck the region, Turkish media reported.
TV footage showed rescue workers carrying the woman, named Melike Imamoglu, strapped onto a stretcher, to an ambulance.
(Reuters)
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