– No one knows how many have died. There must be many thousands, says Jan Egeland who is secretary general of the Norwegian Refugee Council. He says that the death toll numbers coming up are meaningless, and believes that the real number will be far higher. – It comes at the worst possible time of day when all the people are indoors, many in buildings that are not earthquake-proof, says Egeland. Rescue workers and residents spent the night searching through piles of steel beams and crushed cement. A man squats as rescue workers search the rubble in Diyarbakır, Turkey. Photo: ILYAS AKENGIN / AFP Many people poured into the streets when the tremors occurred, and television images show people standing outside in the snow in their pyjamas. – It also comes at the worst imaginable time of the year, in the middle of winter, it is a cold area, there is snow. These are terrible conditions, says Egeland. Many buildings have collapsed, and people are trapped in the ruins. NRC Secretary General Jan Egeland believes we will see big differences in the situation on the Turkish and Syrian sides Photo: Becky Bakr Abdulla / NRC Egeland believes we will see big differences in the situation on the Turkish and Syrian sides. – On the Turkish side, there will be an effective civil defense apparatus. They have an effective Red Crescent association. On the Syrian side, conditions are much worse, he says and continues: – There are areas that are under constant attack from the Syrian government and guerrilla groups. There are millions of internally displaced persons. Rescue workers transport a young girl out of Turkey. Photo: SERTAC KAYAR / Reuters Already in a bad state after many years of war From the Idlib province in Syria, Mounir Moustafa says that many houses were already in a bad state after several years of war. – Russian attacks have made the infrastructure so weak that it cannot withstand an earthquake, he says to news. Moustafa works for the aid organization “De white helmets”. Now they fight against the clock and the cold. Mounir Moustafa in “The White Helmets” says they need a lot of help now. Photo: The white helmets – We need help. We need blankets, medical equipment and digging equipment. We need shelter for people who have to live outside in difficult conditions. Moustafa says the situation is terribly difficult. The province is home to 2 million internally displaced refugees due to the war in Syria. – Here there were many thousands of people without anywhere to live before the earthquake. Now the number is increasing dramatically, he says. There is little left of the village of Besnia in Idlib province. Photo: OMAR HAJ KADOUR / AFP Asking Norwegian citizens to contact the Ministry of Foreign Affairs The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is now trying to find out which Norwegian citizens are affected. – So far we have no information that Norwegian citizens have been affected, but the situation is unclear, writes press officer Mathias Rognved from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in an e-mail to news. – Norwegian citizens who have been affected by the earthquake and want to get in touch with the foreign service can contact the nearest embassy or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ operational centre. – Unusually large Anne Strømmen Lycke is director of the foundation Norsar, which specializes in seismology. – This earthquake is so powerful that the vast majority of buildings will be damaged, it is not possible to stand upright when you are near the epicenter, says Strømmen Lycke. Anne Strømmen Lycke believes there will be more aftershocks in the future. – I think we will see great destruction in this area, and unfortunately a great many injured and dead, says Strømmen Lycke. – Very often there are earthquakes of size 4-5. So this is violent, says Strømmen Lycke about the earthquake, which had a magnitude of 7.8. – How long does it take for a society to recover from such earthquakes? – It really depends on society and what else is going on there. Now parts of Syria, where it was hit hard, are at war. So then one can only imagine what this adds up to in terms of unhappiness. But we saw in Nepal, where there was the big earthquake a few years ago, it hasn’t recovered yet. A man looks for survivors in the ruins of Aleppo, Syria. Photo: AFP It’s about finding as many people as possible in a short time The first two days will be very important, with a view to rescuing people from the ruins. That’s what Håkon Jakob Røthing says, who is international program manager at the Norwegian Red Cross. – It’s about finding as many people as possible in a short time. It is now the most important work in progress. It is important to get crews on the ground to work systematically and organised. Håkon Jakob Røthing from the Norwegian Red Cross points out that the earthquake hit an area where millions of refugees live. Photo: Knut-Øyvind Hagen / news He points out that the earthquake hit an area where millions of refugees live. – They are of course very vulnerable because there are buildings that are already in poor condition due to the prolonged war. We have to wait for high death tolls in these cities. Those who are hurt and injured now are the ones who get building blocks on top of them. But he says that the rescue work in Turkey is well under way. – Those who are found get the help they need. A health team from the Turkish Red Crescent has been sent, who are experts in this. Those affected will receive food and blankets and a place to stay. So those who are rescued from the ruins will be well taken care of.
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Fears several thousand dead after powerful earthquakes – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
