TURKEY: Satellite images revealed the images of a small town after one of the deadliest earthquakes killed thousands and destroyed a large portion of houses. The earthquake may have struck at the worst possible time when humanitarian needs were at their peak since the country’s civil war began nearly 12 years ago. The earthquake happened during the coldest period of the year amid a cholera outbreak.
The head of the White Helmets group has been initiating rescue programmes in the opposition-held regions and explaining the extent to which the earthquake destroyed lives and properties in Jindayris. Approximately 200 buildings were toppled into fine debris by the 7.8-magnitude earthquake close to southern Turkey on February 6.
Jindayris has been the site of several rescue programmes initiated by the White Helmets and the town’s residents. Satellite images and drone footage unfurl how the rescues involved hundreds of people searching through the debris with bare hands for some hint of life in Jindayris.
Dr. Chris Milliner, a professor from Caltech tweeted, “Pixel tracking of the Mw 7.8 earthquake in Turkey using Sentinel-2 optical satellite images shows a very large fault rupture, with at least 250 km of fault motion reaching up to ~5 m.”
As estimated by the White Helmets, 517 bodies have been pulled from the debris, with nearly 813 survivors having been found heavily injured. Almost a quarter of the total population has been reported dead in the region, with 90% of the 4.6 million requiring humanitarian aid prior to the devastation.
The White Helmets have complained about the United Nations and the international community’s inadequate assistance in not delivering any heavy machinery or other equipment they had requested to speed up the search process.
The search for survivors in the north-west was ending, as mentioned by Rael al-Salah, the group’s chief, on Tuesday, who said, “The indications we have are that there are not any survivors, but we are trying to do our final checks on all sites.”
In areas that the government controls, a total of 1,414 deaths have been reported in accordance with the data produced by the health ministry. The UN reports the destruction of 7,400 buildings that have been fully or partially destroyed across Syria, with a total of 8.8 million people affected.
Also Read: Turkey-Syria Rescue Efforts Continue, Death Toll Reaches 23,700
