An unknown number of people have died in the earthquake disaster that struck Turkey and Syria on Monday. Many are still trapped in the ruins, and the rescuers are fighting against the clock to get them out.
Turkish TRT world reports that 9,698 volunteer and professional rescue workers are at work. 216 rescue vehicles have moved to the earthquake-affected areas, and a huge emergency apparatus has been activated.
THE COLLAPSE: The picture clearly shows how the floors have been pressed together like an accordion. Photo: OMAR HAJ KADOUR
Rescuing people from collapsed buildings is a complicated process. Here are five important steps in the process:
1. Coordination:
The first step is to mobilize search and rescue workers. These should mainly be experienced people who know how to move around in ruins.
2. Analyze the destruction:
The rescue workers must know where to search to find possible air pockets. This depends, among other things, on how new or old the building is, and where it is most likely that people have stayed.
If people manage to seek refuge before the building collapses, they have often taken to a stairwell, a bathtub, or under a table.
You must also take into account that the building may collapse further when you start the investigations. It can harm both rescue workers and victims.
They must also watch out for power lines, gas leaks, flooding or other objects that could pose a danger.
MANY DEAD: The earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria could be the worst in many years in terms of deaths. Photo: ILYAS AKENGIN
DESPAIR: A Turkish woman despairs at the ruins in Adana (Photo by Can EROK / AFP) Photo: CAN EROK
3. Listening
Rescuers must use their hearing to locate the slightest sound from the ruins. The rescue site must be as quiet as possible while a rescue worker hammers hard three times in the hope that someone will respond by making a sound.
One can also use carbon dioxide meters which can locate pockets with a higher concentration of CO2, which can mean that people are breathing in there.
Heat-seeking cameras can also be used to find bodies. So do specially trained dogs.
4. The clearing work
The building mass must be stable before he pulls survivors out of the ruins. A wooden framework is often built to prevent the opening collapsing.
Rescue workers also use heavy equipment such as excavators, cranes and bulldozers. Hydraulic jacks and chainsaws are also useful.
If you have secured passage and know there are survivors in the ruin, you can place inflatable bags under large and heavy parts of the ruin and pump them up from the outside
CARRIED OUT: Both dead and survivors are lifted out of the ruins. (Photo by Bakr ALKASEM / AFP) Photo: BAKR ALKASEM
The condition of the survivors must be determined as soon as possible. Life-saving work can start on the spot before the patient is taken to hospital.
5. The ending
After 24 hours, the chance of finding survivors falls very quickly, but if people stay in an air pocket in the ruin and have access to food and water, they can survive for a long time.
Normally, rescue work is completed between five and seven days after the building has collapsed.
WEAK BUILDING MASSES: Many places in the earthquake-affected areas of Syria already had weak building structures after many years of war. Photo: OMAR HAJ KADOUR
– The earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria on the night of Monday could be the decade’s biggest earthquake disaster, says seismologist Roger Musson to Reuters.
The reason for that is complex. Two earthquakes of 7.8 and 7.5, as well as over 100 aftershocks, hit areas with a lot of poor buildings.
The epicenter was also only 18 kilometers underground, which could cause more destruction than if it were deeper.
Facts about the earthquake disaster
* At 4.17 local time – 2.17 Norwegian time – on the night of Monday, south-eastern Turkey was hit by a strong earthquake, which was measured at 7.8 in magnitude.
* The epicenter was approximately 17.9 kilometers underground near the cities of Gaziantep and Osmaniye, a few miles from the border with Syria.
* The number of dead exceeds 3,000 when you add up from various authorities and is expected to rise rapidly. Several thousand are also injured.
* Many thousands of buildings have collapsed in Turkey, and it is feared that many are trapped in the ruins.
* It is difficult to get information from Syria, but the civil defense group The White Helmets has declared a state of emergency. Around 1,000 have been confirmed dead.
* Turkey has declared a state of emergency at level four, which also triggers a call to the international community for aid. Several countries have offered their help.
* Millions of refugees from Syria and other war-torn areas live in the area affected by the earthquake. These often live in miserable conditions and have poor access to health care.
* The earthquake lasted for about one minute and was followed by over 40 aftershocks, the strongest of which occurred on Monday afternoon and was measured at 7.5.
* Tremors were felt as far away as Cairo. In Damascus and Beirut, many people ran into the streets, fearing that buildings would collapse.
* The weather in the earthquake affected areas is cold and wet.
(Source: Ritzau, AFP)
