Quake leads to solidarity
Search and rescue efforts are continuing in at least 17 buildings in the Turkish city of Izmir after a strong earthquake struck yesterday in the Aegean Sea between the Turkish coast and the Greek island of Samos, killing at least 19 people and injuring over 700 amid collapsed buildings and flooding.
A small tsunami struck the Seferihisar district south of Izmir in western Turkey, the city worst affected by the quake, said Haluk Ozener, director of the Istanbul-based Kandilli Observatory and Earthquake Research Institute.
At least 17 people were killed in Izmir, Turkey’s third-largest city, including one who drowned, and 709 were injured, said Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD).
Among the dead were the wife and two children of the secretary-general of the Turkish Medical Association’s Izmir branch, the group said.
On Samos, two teenagers died after being struck by a collapsing wall. At least 19 people were injured, and two, including a 14-year-old, were airlifted to the mainland, health authorities said.
The small tsunami that hit the Turkish coast also affected Samos, where seawater flooded streets in the main harbour town of Vathi.
Izmir Governor Yavuz Selim Kosger said at least 70 people had been rescued from wrecked buildings, with four destroyed and more than 10 collapsed.
Dozens of other buildings
suffered less severe damage.
Turkish media showed rescuers pulling people from the rubble, including one survivor who was found about six hours after the quake. Emergency teams continued digging after nightfall as cranes lifted concrete slabs from the wreckage.
The quake, which the Kandilli Institute said had a magnitude of 6.9, was centred in the Aegean northeast of Samos. AFAD said it measured the magnitude at 6.6.
It was felt across the eastern Greek islands and as far as the capital, Athens, and in Bulgaria.
In Turkey, it shook the regions of Aegean and Marmara, including Istanbul. Istanbul’s governor said there were no reports of damage in the city, Turkey’s largest.
Video on Twitter showed flooding in the Seferihisar district. Izmir Mayor Tunc Soyer urged residents to not enter damaged buildings, and to be mindful of social distancing and mask wearing amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
Greek seismologist Akis Tselentis told Greek state broadcaster ERT that due to the shallow depth of the quake’s
epicentre – roughly 10 kilometres – potentially powerful aftershocks could be expected for several weeks. He warned that buildings could collapse in a strong aftershock.
The government and cities like Istanbul have sent more than 3000 rescue personnel to Izmir, as well as relief supplies.
The Greek minister responsible for civil protection and crisis management, Nikos Hardalias, headed to Samos along with a search and rescue team, paramedics and engineers.
Some Samos residents said they planned to spend the night in emergency tents for fear of aftershocks.
In a rare show of solidarity after months of tense bilateral relations, Greek and Turkish government officials issued mutual messages of solidarity.
‘‘We pray that there is no further loss of live in Turkey or Greece, and we send our best wishes to all those affected on both sides of the earthquake,’’ Turkey’s communications director Fahrettin Altun tweeted.
‘‘This tragedy reminds us once again how close we are despite our differences over policy. We’re ready to help if Greece needs it.’’
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis tweeted that he had phoned Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ‘‘to offer my condolences for the tragic loss of life from the earthquake that struck both our countries. Whatever our differences, these are times when our people need to stand together’’.
Erdogan responded with his thanks, and offered his condolences.
‘‘Turkey, too, is always ready to help Greece heal its wounds. That two neighbours show solidarity in difficult times is more valuable than many things in life,’’ he wrote.
Relations between Turkey and Greece have been tense recently. Warships from both have faced off in the eastern Mediterranean Sea in a dispute over maritime boundaries and energy exploration rights. The ongoing tension has led to fears of open conflict between the neighbours and Nato allies.