Turkey has completed rescue operations and search continues in two provinces Ozan Kose / AFP 02/14/2023
Turkey graduated Rescue operations after the earthquaketo keep the devices only in the two provinces hardest hit by the earthquakes that killed tens of thousands, the AFAD (Emergencies and Disasters Management Authority) said this Sunday (19).
“Search and rescue is complete in many of our provinces. Work in Kahramanmaras and Hatay provinces continues,” said the agency’s director, Yunus Sezer, in Ankara.
O Earthquake that shook the region on February 6thwith a magnitude of 7.8 and its epicenter in Kahramanmaras, left more than 40,000 dead in Turkey and neighboring Syria, according to AFAD’s latest report.
No survivors were found in the ruins for more than 24 hours.
On Saturday, 296 hours after the earthquake, a couple was rescued in Antakya, capital of Hatay province. Her son was found alive but died soon after.
In the past three days, seven people have been pulled alive from the rubble, all in Antakya.
At Kahramanmaras province, epicenter of the earthquakethe chances of survival seemed lower than in Hatay due to the cold, which in snowy areas like Elbistan reached 15°C at night.
For his part, Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay said that 105,000 buildings had collapsed or were badly damaged and therefore had to be demolished.
More than 6,000 aftershocks have been recorded since the disaster, including one measuring 6.6 and forty measuring between 5 and 6 in intensity, the relief organization reported.
In a message posted to Twitter, Afad urged victims not to attempt to enter damaged homes to recover property, “even for a short time.”
The agency also announced that “applications for housing benefit” have already been opened to those who have lost their homes.
Authorities did not say how many people were left homeless after the quake.
More than two million people have left the affected provinces on their own, said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday.