Key developments in aftermath of quake
ISTANBUL – As the search and rescue effort for buried survivors of the Feb. 6 earthquake started to wind down in Turkey, demolition teams have moved in to clear the mounds of rubble left by the worst disaster in modern Turkish history.
The number of confirmed deaths in Turkey due to the earthquake rose to more than 41,000 as of Sunday night, according to the national disaster agency AFAD.
The new figure takes the combined death toll in Turkey and Syria to more than 44,700. The U.N. has said the full scope of the deaths in Syria may take time to determine.
The mayor of Hatay says his province suffered around 21,000 deaths in the earthquake, more than half of the total number of the confirmed fatalities in Turkey.
“At least 80% of the buildings must be demolished in Antakya,” Lutfu Savas told broadcaster Haberturk. Antakya is the capital of Hatay and the site of the ancient city of Antioch.
Savas added that there were 24,000 injured people across the province, which lies between Syria and the Mediterranean Sea.
Turkey’s disaster management said some 6,040 aftershocks hit the 11 provinces that form the disaster zone declared by the government in the days following the initial quake.
The initial quake was measured with a magnitude of 7.8, and was followed nine hours later by a 7.5 magnitude tremor.
Orhan Tatar, general manager of the agency, AFAD, said 40 aftershocks were of a 5 to 6 magnitude, while one was recorded at 6.6.
“It is extremely important to stay away from damaged buildings and not enter them,” he told a televised news briefing in Ankara.
He also warned of “secondary disasters” such as landslides and rockfalls.
Some 105,794 buildings checked by Turkey’s Environment and Urbanization Ministry are either destroyed or so badly damaged as to require demolition, the ministry said Sunday.
Of these, 20,662 had collapsed, the statement said. The damaged or destroyed buildings contained more than 384,500 units, mostly residential apartments.