Category Archives: Earthquakes

Bashar al-Assad seizes his chance for a comeback after Syrian earthquake

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Arab neighbours who snubbed president for waging a war against his own people are courting him. What is behind the new attitude?

Walking through Aleppo in Syria last month, Bashar al-Assad did not look like a man shouldering the fate of a nation.

As he posed for photos with locals, who queued to meet him inspecting damage from the earthquake that had devastated parts of northern Syria, Assad appeared to show as much relief as concern for victims. The country’s grinning leader seemed to realise a moment had finally arrived.

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Life amid the rubble: UK specialists on their Turkey earthquake rescue effort

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After the first quake hit, 77 Britons were deployed to join teams from around the world. Here, some recount their experiences

British search-and-rescue specialists deployed to Turkey after its earthquake on 6 February have recalled the scenes of devastation that they encountered, as the country and its southern neighbour Syria were hit by two more tremors this week.

“If we were still out there [this week], we would have been in those buildings,” said Wayne Ward, a firefighter for Lancashire’s rescue service, and one of 77 British specialists deployed to Turkey in the days that followed the first quake.

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Death toll from latest earthquakes in Turkey reaches eight

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Casualties relatively low since few remain in region devastated by twin earthquakes two weeks ago

The toll from two earthquakes that hit Turkey and Syria on Monday – two weeks after powerful quakes killed more than 47,000 people – has risen to eight, with up to 300 recovering from injuries and up to a dozen buildings toppling on both sides of the border.

The widespread anxiety and panic sparked by the latest tremors has rattled a region that is still coming to terms with the devastation caused earlier this month.

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Turkey hit by two more powerful earthquakes two weeks after disaster

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Three killed and 213 injured, government says, after quakes of 6.4 and 5.8 magnitude shake southern province of Hatay

A 6.4-magnitude earthquake and a second measuring 5.8 have hit Turkey’s southern province of Hatay, terrifying those left in a region devastated by twin earthquakes two weeks ago.

Turkey’s interior minister, Süleyman Soylu, said that at least three people were killed and 213 wounded by the latest quakes, after a large government hospital in the city of İskenderun in the north of Hatay province declared it was evacuating patients.

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Thousands dead, millions displaced: the earthquake fallout in Turkey and Syria

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Death toll of 47,000 expected to rise and WHO says 26 million people need assistance across both countries

The figures are unfathomable: 47,000 people dead, thousands of others missing, millions homeless. In minutes, two massive earthquakes that rocked Turkey and Syria turned entire cities into mounds of rubble. Two weeks later, the scale of the devastation is still being unearthed. The true impact will not be fully understood for decades.

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Seven more people rescued in Turkey eight days after earthquake

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The survivors, including two teenagers, saved as rescue teams look to next phase of aid

Seven more people have been rescued eight days after a massive earthquake hit Turkey and Syria, but hopes of finding further survivors of what the World Health Organization called the worst natural disaster in 100 years in its 53-country Europe region are dwindling.

As a UN aid convoy entered stricken north-west Syria through a new crossing, the combined death toll rose to nearly 38,000, including 31,974 in Turkey and at least 5,714 in rebel-held and government-controlled Syria – a figure that is expected to continue to increase.

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Syria’s Assad agrees to open two more entry points for aid to earthquake victims

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UN announces regime leader’s acceptance of border crossing points for humanitarian aid to reach rebel-held province

The Syrian leader, Bashar al-Assad, has agreed to open two border crossing points to allow in a greater volume of emergency aid for victims of the earthquake that has devastated parts of Turkey and Syria, and killed 36,000 people.

Assad’s decision was announced and welcomed by the UN secretary general, António Guterres, who said the two crossing points between Turkey and north-west Syria, at Bab al-Salam and Al Ra’ee, would be open “for an initial period of three months to allow for the timely delivery of humanitarian aid”.

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Turkey finds a few more earthquake survivors as further rescue hopes fade

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Turkish rescue efforts wind down amid grief and anger while UN calls for aid access to north-west Syria

A diminishing number of survivors have been pulled from the catastrophic earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria as the death toll climbed to over 35,000 and UN aid officials pushed for more aid access to rebel-controlled north-west Syria, where only one crossing from Turkey was open.

Search and rescue teams began to wind down their work on Monday as hopes of finding anyone alive faded, but there were cheers in Turkish cities when people were freed after seven days under the rubble, including a young girl named Miray in Adıyaman and a 12-year-old boy named Kaan in southern Hatay province.

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Turkey-Syria earthquake death toll likely to ‘more than double’, UN says

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At least 24,596 people have been confirmed dead after the 7.8-magnitude quake struck on Monday

The death toll from the earthquake in Turkey and Syria is likely to “more than double”, according to a United Nations emergency relief coordinator.

Martin Griffiths, speaking to Sky News on Saturday, said he expected tens of thousands more deaths.

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Pressure mounts on UN to provide urgent support to north-western Syria

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Rescue teams say death tolls will continue to rise if UN does not speed up ‘overly cautious’ delivery of aid into rebel-held region

Pressure is mounting on the UN to provide urgent support to north-western Syria, which is yet to receive meaningful aid five days after the earthquake that devastated the region, and with the chance of finding any survivors beneath the rubble almost gone.

A convoy of 14 UN lorries entered the opposition-held part of the country from Turkey on Friday at the Bab al-Hawa crossing, containing humanitarian-kit, solar lamps, blankets and other items, one day after a six-lorry convoy crossed the border with blankets and basic supplies. Thursday’s convoy had been arranged before the disaster that has killed at least 3,500 people inside Syria and left thousands more buried under rubble.

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Geological impact of Turkey-Syria earthquake slowly comes into focus

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Subsidence has caused flooding, while hillsides are at risk of landslip, which mean roads may need to be rerouted and people rehomed

More than 17,000 people are now known to have died after the huge earthquake in Turkey and Syria and the focus right now is on supporting survivors.

But there are wider geological implications to the quake that may have consequences in the longer term slowly coming into focus. In the coastal city of İskenderun, there appears to have been significant subsidence, which has resulted in flooding, while the quake has left many hillsides around the country at a serious risk of landslip. This may result in roads and pipelines having to be rerouted and communities rehomed.

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First aid convoy enters north-west Syria as quake toll passes 21,000

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Turkey says it is working to open two more border crossings; girl and father pulled alive from rubble in Antakya

The first convoy of humanitarian assistance for victims of Monday’s earthquake has crossed into north-west Syria, as the death toll in Turkey and Syria climbed to more than 21,000 amid fading hopes of finding survivors under rubble in freezing weather.

Six trucks passed through the Bab al-Hawa border crossing from Turkey carrying tents and hygiene products, as Turkey said it was working to open two more border crossings with Syria to allow in more humanitarian aid.

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Turkey and Syria earthquake death toll passes 15,000 as Erdoğan defends response

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Turkish president rejects growing criticism as rescuers continue to pull survivors from freezing rubble

Turkey’s president has rejected growing criticism of the authorities’ response to Monday’s huge earthquakes, as the death toll passed 15,000 across Turkey and Syria and rescuers continued to pull survivors from the freezing rubble.

Making his first visit to Turkey’s worst-affected region since the 7.8- and 7.5-magnitude quakes hit within hours of each other, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan acknowledged early problems with Turkey’s response but said it was now working well.

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Turkey and Syria earthquake: what we know so far on day three

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More than 11,000 confirmed dead with more than 8,000 rescued; Erdoğan visits quake zone

The combined death toll from Monday’s earthquake which struck Syria and Turkey has now reached 11,416, as rescue efforts continued across the region, despite being hampered by cold weather conditions.

Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced that the death toll from Monday’s quake had reached 8,754 in Turkey. Visiting Kahramanmaraş, which was near the epicentre of the quake, he said “On the first day we experienced some issues, but then on the second day and today the situation is under control”. Erdoğan promised the government aims to build housing within one year for those left without a home in the 10 provinces affected.

The death toll in Syria has risen to 2,662, according to reports from AFP. Syria’s government has received help from a host of Arab countries including Egypt and Iraq, as well as from its key ally Russia, which has sent rescue teams and deployed forces already in Syria to join relief work, including in Aleppo.

Syria has activated the EU civil protection mechanism, two days after the earthquake, to request further assistance from the 27-country bloc and the eight other nation states that are part of the programme. The European Union has has already mobilised search and rescue teams to help Turkey, while the bloc’s Copernicus satellite system has been activated to provide emergency mapping services. At least 19 member countries have offered assistance.

Cold weather continues to be expected in the region with minimum and maximum temperatures for Kahramanmaraş today of -6C and 1C (21-34F), and for Gaziantep between -5C and 1C (23-34F). Diyarbakır is expected to have continued snowfall, with temperatures climbing to 2C (35F) at most.

A container blaze at Turkey’s southern port of Iskenderun has been brought under control, Turkey’s maritime authority said on Wednesday, following combined extinguishing efforts from land, sea and air. The blaze started when containers were toppled during the quake.

A first 7.8-magnitude quake struck at 4.17 am (1.17 GMT) on Monday near the Turkish city of Gaziantep, home to about 2 million people. It was followed by a 7.5-magnitude tremor and several aftershocks.

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Newborn baby pulled alive from Syria earthquake rubble while mother dies

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Relatives find baby girl tied by umbilical cord to mother who died in Monday’s massive earthquake

A newborn baby girl has been pulled alive from the rubble of a home in northern Syria, after relatives found her still tied by her umbilical cord to her mother, who died in Monday’s massive earthquake.

The infant is the sole survivor of her immediate family, the rest of whom were all killed when the 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck Syria and neighbouring Turkey flattened the family home in the rebel-held town of Jindayris, said relative Khalil al-Suwadi.

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Syria accused of playing politics with aid in aftermath of earthquake

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Dispute with Damascus over who controls aid hinders efforts to get supplies into rebel-held north

Syria was accused of playing politics with aid after the Syrian ambassador to the UN, Bassam Sabbagh, said his country should be responsible for the delivery of all aid into Syria, including those areas not under Syrian government control.

The dispute over the control of the aid – along with the weather, destroyed roads and closed crossing points – is hampering aid efforts into northern Syria, which is held by rebel groups.

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Turkey and Syria earthquake death toll passes 7,800 as rescue efforts falter

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Aftershocks and freezing weather hamper efforts of rescue teams searching for survivors after 7.8-magnitude quake

Aftershocks, freezing temperatures and damaged roads are hampering efforts to tackle the enormous humanitarian emergency triggered by Monday’s 7.8-magnitude earthquake in southern Turkey and northern Syria, with 7,800 people now confirmed dead and 380,000 others seeking refuge in Turkey alone.

As the scale of the devastation from the initial quake – and a second tremor – became clearer, the Turkish authorities declared a state of emergency in 10 provinces and the World Health Organization warned that the number of fatalities could exceed 20,000.

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UK to send aid to Turkey and Syria despite budget ‘strain’, says minister

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More than 70 rescue specialists and sniffer dogs to help with efforts after thousands killed in earthquake-hit region

UK aid will be sent to Turkey and Syria despite “very considerable strain” on the development budget, the cabinet minister Andrew Mitchell has said, after earthquakes killed thousands in the region.

Mitchell, who as a backbench MP opposed cuts to the aid budget, said there were specific funds allocated for major humanitarian disasters.

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Syria earthquake aftermath: why is situation so bad in war-ravaged country?

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Beset by crumbling infrastructure and food shortages, Syria’s war-ravaged population was unprepared for the deadly quake

Syria bears the scars of 12 years of brutal war, the effects of which are likely to hamper aid efforts in the areas worst hit by the quake. Beset by conflict, food shortages, economic collapse and a recent cholera outbreak, the country’s national infrastructure has been at crisis point for years, barely able to support its war-weary population.

And that was before the worst earthquake to hit the region in decades struck.

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‘Catastrophic’ earthquake in Turkey and Syria kills at least 3,800 people

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Dozens of countries offer help as rescue workers and residents frantically search for survivors after devastating 7.8-magnitude tremor

International rescue missions were rushing to Turkey and Syria on Monday after one of the most powerful earthquakes to hit the region in at least a century left more than 3,800 people dead, thousands injured and an unknown number trapped in the rubble.

The early-morning quake and dozens of aftershocks wiped out entire apartment blocks in Turkey and heaped more destruction on Syrian communities already devastated by over a decade of war.

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