Massive EarthQuake in Turkey

hanibal · October 24, 2011, 7:37am

Turks are our brothers who helped as without any interest of their own, most of Turk NGOs are still working in the flood-effected areas of last year. This is time to return the favor, Pakistanies should gather their act and help their Brothers as much as possible… we in 2005 have already suffered from the earthquake, we know how it feels to be under open skies and in freezing temperatures, let us not sit back and watch, let us use whatever resources we have to help our brother in this time of need…

Istanbul, Turkey (CNN) – Battling near-freezing temperatures and darkness, rescue workers and residents in eastern Turkey early Monday scoured the wreckage wrought by the country’s most-powerful earthquake in more than a decade, hoping to find survivors.
They used flashlights, shovels, heavy machinery and their hands to lift the debris, and climbed over collapsed buildings in search of victims.
At least 217 people were killed in Sunday’s quake, said Turkish Interior Minister Idris Naim Sahin, the Anatolian news agency reported Monday. The previous official toll was 138.
Another 350 people were injured in the quake, which the U.S. Geological Survey said had a magnitude of 7.2.
Roughly 20 aftershocks rattled eastern Turkey in one of the nation’s poorest areas. The largest had a magnitude of 6.0.
One hundred people were killed in Van, while 117 were killed in Ercis, said Sahin, the Anatolian news agency reported. It also said that schools will be closed for a week in Van.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan told reporters the death toll is likely to climb, as rescue teams work through the night to save people still trapped in the rubble.
The prime minister said 55 buildings collapsed in Ercis on the north shore of Lake Van, while the Turkish Red Crescent had said earlier that some 25 apartment buildings and a student dormitory collapsed in the town.
Local rescuers took many wounded people out of the dormitory, a Red Crescent statement said, without saying exactly how many.
A health services building also collapsed, along with part of a hospital, CNN sister network CNN Turk reported. The injured were being treated in the hospital’s garden.
“People are really scared,” said CNN Turk reporter Nevsin Mengu. “The survivors are now trying to survive the cold weather.”
She said many residents are not returning to their houses, but sleeping on rooftops or in the streets. It was not clear whether their homes were uninhabitable, or whether they were just too frightened. Electricity and natural gas were off in most of the city.
Speaking from Van, Mengu said the death toll is almost sure to rise, as rescue teams have not yet reached some of the smaller villages. Trucks carrying medical aid and food were seen driving into Van.
Official rescue efforts were also under way in Ercis, said CNN Turk reporter Sevda Incesu, but residents were conducting efforts of their own. Ambulances were having trouble getting into town because the roads were littered with debris, she said.