Turkish quake victims sleep in trains, tents, greenhouses
SAMANDAG, Turkey — Nearly two weeks after a massive earthquake leveled tens of thousands of buildings and displaced millions of people in Turkey and Syria, many are still struggling to fulfill their basic needs and some are bedding down in tents, factories, train cars and greenhouses.
People pushed from their homes in the disaster zone described a wide range of conditions: Some were able to find regular hot showers, while others feared freezing to death.
The Turkish government and dozens of aid groups have launched a massive relief effort. The government said Wednesday that more than 5,400 shipping containers have been deployed as shelters and over 200,000 tents dispatched.
But it’s facing a huge disaster. The government says at least 84,000 buildings, containing more than 332,000 dwellings, were either destroyed by the Feb. 6 quake or too damaged to be used. There is no official figure for the number of people displaced on Turkey’s side of the disaster region, which is home to some 14 million, or 16% of the country’s population.
In the mountain villages of Kahramanmaras province, locals battle to keep warm during the bitterly cold nights.
Buyuknacar, a village just a few miles from the epicenter of the 7.8 magnitude quake, was severely damaged and 158 were killed. Two days after the initial tremor, a military helicopter brought supplies and on the fifth day the road was cleared.
The tents the villagers have are too flimsy to keep out the cold. Villagers said they feared icy conditions in the mountains would lead to further deaths.
Umut Sitil, 45, said: “Our basic need is, first, containers. Tents won’t work here. ... People in tents will freeze to death.”
On Tuesday, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said 2.2 million people had left the disaster zone. Of those, he said, the housing needs of 1.6 million had been fulfilled, including some 890,000 people placed in public facilities, such as student dormitories, and 50,000 in hotels.
The Transport Ministry said Wednesday that the government had helped more than 272,000 to evacuate by air, sea and rail. However, many people prefer to remain close to their homes, either to protect their possessions, wait for relatives’ bodies to be recovered or, in rural areas, care for their livestock.
Others seeking protection from winter temperatures have resorted to any structure that will keep out the elements.
Near the Mediterranean coast in Hatay, one of the hardest-hit provinces, farmers in Samandag district fled to large greenhouses used for growing tomatoes, bringing with them whatever bedding and cooking utensils they could salvage.
At Iskenderun’s rail station, families shelter in train carriages, according to the state-run Andalou news agency.
Qatar is sending shelters used to house soccer fans during last year’s World Cup. Many other nations have also sent tents and containers.