By: Hassan Zubair
Turkey and Syria have never been struck by such a devastating magnitude of Earthquake. The magnitude of 7.7 and 7.6 shook ten provinces altogether. the area between Turkey and Syria never faced such a disaster in over 100 years. At least 20,000 people died and almost 75000 people were injured by the two strong quakes in turkey. The tensions aroused in these regions for many years are discharged by the earthquakes. Such a rare magnitude 8 earthquake, maybe happens once every year in the World. If memory serves correctly, our history is full of such Earthquakes however this much loss of life has never been witnessed. Not even the time when Aleppo was shaken by major Earthquakes. The aftershocks for days made things difficult for rescue teams working on the ground in Turkey and Syria.
It is understandable that it’s not just digging into the rubble in hope of saving lives. The rescue effort for people trapped takes much more effort as people have been trapped for 80 to 94 hours in the rubble, under walls and collapsed buildings. A large-scale search and rescue operation is undergoing in the district of Kahramanmaras Province.
According to Turkey’s Premier Disaster and emergency management Authority (AFAD), the entire region reeled from 78 aftershocks which includes 6.6 and 6.5 magnitudes. According to the AFAD officials, almost 30 municipality and NGO officers along with 9700 volunteers and 230 vehicles were dispatched right away for search and rescue. However, the area which was struck by the quake is so vast that the rescue operation is still ongoing. people are still trapped in the rubble and the people are volunteering to help. Even those who were victims of the disaster are helping in rescuing people still trapped. However, 300,000 blankets,20,000 tents and 25000 beds along with 50,000-bed sheets and 1200 kitchen sets were dispatched from Istanbul.
In order to understand the key elements and necessary actions required for such a complex operation there are five things that should be kept in mind.
Coordination: Mobilized search and rescue crews need to coordinate with each other at all times.
Analysing and looking for Voids: Assessing and evaluating the situation after arriving at the scene allow workers and crews to look for voids like staircases, bathtubs, cupboards and under the table where victims might be trapped. Also, they need to be careful while rescue attempts as there might be power lines and gas leaks that might prove to be more disastrous if not taken care of at the right time. Special suits, gloves and all the precautionary measures must be taken care of as no further loss of life should occur.
Paying Attention to Faintest Noises: People trapped under the debris and huge walls can only yell and shout for them to be heard by the teams in the search of them. The smallest faintest noise can be located by specialized equipment. Hence carbon dioxide detectors and thermal imaging cameras are necessary for the rescue teams to use efficiently.
Debris Removal and Victim Extrication: The teams should be smart to use a rectangular wooden framework called Box crib to pull out victims trapped in the debris. Rescuers use a variety of heavy equipment to move rubble and move it after stabilising the surface. As victims trapped might get injured or even die while moving the rubble above their heads. So power tools and technical equipment is used by the rescuers so that the victims do not get hurt during the rescue.
Deciding when to end: The decision of when to stop looking for the trapped under the rubble is entirely up to the coordinating agency and state. Although people have been found who were trapped for more then 120 hours . Many victims who didn’t have access to water drank their own urine to survive.
We urge the people in the World to pray for the poor souls who died because of this natural disaster. China came to Turkey’s and Syria’s aid at once. Following their enthusiastic actions European Union, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Greece, Hungary, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Romania and Germany also mobilised possible sources at their aid also.
However, we request those who are reading this to visit, if possible, or at least watch live Video logs being uploaded daily by our teams present in turkey and Syria to see for themselves how devastating and disastrous the Earthquake struck Turkey and Syria. The people need all the help they can get.
ALLAH O AKBAR