Terrible earthquake in Turkey and Syria
The deaths number in the thousands:
A 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck southern Turkey and northern Syria early Monday, killing more than 2,300 people and taking down countless buildings.
The earthquake prompted a search for survivors in the rubble in cities and towns across the region. The death toll is expected to rise. The World Health Organization (WHO) said the numbers could increase as much as eight time as rescuers work to find more victims.
The quake occurred in the middle of the night when people were asleep, and many building collapsed.
It’s not just a quake, it’s a multitude of quakes and aftershocks. The worst was 7.8 but there have been others in the 6’s and 7’s too, and they’re still ongoing. And most of them are shallow, which means the buildings will be moving side-to-side, not just up-and-down.
https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/map/?currentFeatureId=us6000jllz&extent=35.86698,35.01342&extent=38.83989,41.60521
That’s not good for high rises built with poorly enforced standards.
Several countries have put aid efforts forward, the Turks are going to need a lot of immediate support.
A terrible occurrence in an earthquake-prone part of the world. Building codes are not what they should be in such conditions — although one of the buildings heavily damaged was an ancient Hittite and Roman fortress.
I am glad I saw the Hagia Sophia, in Istanbul, before they turned it back into a mosque. It’s been standing since 360 AD.
I’ve been following that story. Death toll is up to 3,500 so far. Some of the pictures show whole towns flattened out. I’m afraid the death toll is going to go much higher.
Terrible.
Waidmann
Kate-
Building codes? In Asia Minor? That is not New Jersey!
Surely you jest.
Graphic heavy presentation of Turkey’s multiple quakes and structural faults at Geology Hub: https://youtu.be/bqLmw7NKJVU
Cicero, yes, building codes are non-existent or at least seldom enforced, and the culture is fatalist. Life continues inshallah, as God wills.
With another couple, my wife and I visited Turkey for several weeks in 2005. We rented a small car and just followed a countrywide route, staying in whatever accommodation presented itself. Despite some preconceived misgivings, we found the people universally friendly and helpful.
Unfortunately, we have had indications since that Americans are much less welcome there in recent years.
When we consider Obama’s forcing down Turkey’s throat an alliance of the US with the PKK in Northern Syria, to say nothing of Obama’s efforts to establish IRI hegemony in the Middle East while inviting Putin into Syria, is it any wonder?
sdferr, a nice summary of Obama’s brilliant policies in the ME. How to swat a hornet’s nest, heh?
We have had tremors and low-level activity here in Israel. The Syria-Africa rift passes right through the Jordan valley.
There’s also a significant fault that runs NW-SE between Haifa and Bet She’an, i.e., the entire Jezre’el Valley, hooking up to the major N-S rift mentioned above.
A major earthquake is expected.
Everyone knows it’s only a matter of time.
I would imagine that modern Israeli building codes will help survival rates in the region, when the earthquake comes.
Actually, the opposite is, unfortunately, generally the case.
It is only relatively recently that building codes have been firmed up.
As a result, new buildings HAVE been built to code—barring the always present possibility of corruption and cutting corners—and there has been a concerted, if uneven, effort to strengthen older buildings.
This makes the current situation better than what it was perhaps 20 years or so ago, but there’s still a long ways to go.
E.g.,
“Israeli buildings face major earthquake risk, despite efforts to upgrade them;
“According to official estimates, at least 600,000 residential homes and many other buildings remain unprotected, as experts urge more comprehensive action”—
https://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-buildings-face-major-earthquake-risk-despite-efforts-to-upgrade-them/
Better than 20 years ago is something, anyhow. Perhaps this event, which was felt in the region, will spur some new efforts.
Indeed.
(Actually, according to the article I linked to, the change began in the early 80s—40 years ago. What has happened more recently WRT building high rises, at least—likely due to the last several wars involving Gaza—is the construction of a reinforced inner core, which includes elevator banks and “sealed” rooms, if I’m not mistaken. Once the central core is in place, the remaining parts of each floor are constructed so that buildings go up gradually, leading with the center.)