“Difficult to build for this type of shock”
10:40 am | The earthquake in Turkey caused extensive damage to buildings. Thousands of people have been destroyed, many buildings are unstable and aftershocks threaten to collapse. Building houses for such disasters is not that easy, says Eefje Hendriks, an expert on disaster resistant buildings at the University of Twente.
‘It’s very difficult to build a building for these quakes, they are really earthquakes that release huge amounts of energy. These shocks have not been this strong in Turkey since 1939, some buildings actually survive these types of earthquakes, especially buildings with critical functions.’
Some Dutch are missing
10:30 am | Six Dutch people are missing in the earthquake area, reports the Foreign Ministry. As far as is known, there have been no Dutch deaths or injuries from the earthquakes, the ministry said.
The death toll exceeds 5,000
10:20 am | Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay reports that more than 2,400 people have already died in Turkey due to the earthquakes that hit the country. With the death toll in Syria, the total number of victims therefore exceeds 5,000, reports Reuters.
More casualties are expected. According to Oktay, the weather conditions are making rescue efforts difficult. WHO has previously said the death toll could still rise eight-fold.
Dutch rescue team with truck on their way to the disaster area in Turkey
09:20 | The Dutch Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) team left Adana in Turkey for the area affected by severe earthquakes. With three trucks and four coaches they go to the region of Hatay, in south-eastern Turkey. Weather conditions are good for now, the search and rescue team reports.
Earlier, Jop Heinen, one of the team members on site, said he hoped to be able to start within hours. It’s hard to say exactly when we’ll start. This also depends, for example, on road conditions.’
Most of the team has already landed in Adana on Monday evening. A cargo plane also arrived on Tuesday morning, carrying equipment used in rescue operations. These include tools for drilling into reinforced concrete, microphones for searching for people under rubble and equipment for descending from great heights. The team also has its own tented camp, food, drinking water and toilet facilities.
The rescue team consists of 65 people from the police, fire brigade, ambulance and defense services and eight rescue dogs. USAR is deployed both at home and abroad in disasters or incidents where people are trapped or buried. About 150 men and women have been trained for this and given the correct vaccinations. A team must be ready within two hours. The Netherlands is one of the few countries in the world capable of deploying such a team in case of major disasters. The atmosphere in the team is good, Heinen said on Tuesday morning. “Last night we were able to rest for a few hours at the airport, waiting for the equipment which was still on its way. We are happy that the team is complete and that the equipment is there”.
The death toll in the area of the Syrian earthquake rises to over 1,600
09:15 am | The death toll in Syria’s quake zone has risen to more than 1,600. The government reports at least 812 dead, state-run news agency SANA said, and aid workers in the rebel-controlled northwest have counted at least 792 dead. .
More than 3,600 people were injured in Monday’s earthquakes. Of these reports, more than 1400 come from the area under the control of the Syrian government. According to the White Helmets humanitarian organization, 2,200 people were injured in areas under rebel control.
Turkish minister: 13.5 million citizens affected by earthquakes
09:10 | Ten Turkish provinces and 13.5 million citizens were directly affected by the earthquakes. This was reported by the Turkish media on the basis of the Turkish Minister for the Environment and Urbanization, Murat Kurum. He visited the hard-hit city of Gaziantep on Tuesday morning.
The minister called the quake the country’s biggest disaster in the last century since the earthquake that struck the country in 1939. Relief efforts were hampered by winter weather and aftershocks. About 285 have been observed so far. Another earthquake measuring 5.7 was reported on Tuesday morning by the Euro-Mediterranean Seismological Center (EMSC).
The second flight of the Dutch rescue team also landed in Turkey
07:30 | The second flight of the Dutch USAR search and rescue team also landed in Adana, Turkey. It is a cargo plane containing equipment used in rescue operations. The intention is for the team to assist in rescue operations in earthquake-stricken Turkey.
The aircraft brought equipment with a total weight of 15 tons. This includes tools to drill through reinforced concrete, microphones to search for people under rubble and material to be able to descend from a great height, a spokesman said earlier. The team also brings their own tented camp, food, drinking water and toilet facilities.
The search and rescue team landed first. 65 people and eight rescue dogs will provide assistance. The team includes people from the police, fire, ambulance services and defence. USAR is deployed both at home and abroad in disasters or incidents where people are trapped or buried. About 150 men and women have been trained for this and given the correct vaccinations. A team must be ready within two hours. The Netherlands is one of the few countries in the world capable of deploying such a team in case of major disasters.
The overnight earthquake near the city of Gaziantep had a magnitude of 7.8, followed by aftershocks, including one of 7.5. The death toll is expected to rise further in the near future. Bad weather in the disaster area hampered the work of rescuers.
Rescue teams from all over the world traveling to the disaster areas
06:30 | From all parts of the world, rescuers or humanitarian aid are on their way to the region of Turkey and Syria, where thousands of people have already died after strong earthquakes on Monday. According to the Turkish newspaper Sabah, 13,000 rescue workers and volunteers left Istanbul airport on Tuesday morning for the Turkish province of Hatay.
Images posted on social media show large groups of people at Istanbul airport. In part, they would be volunteer operators who, according to the governor, would be on their way to the province of Hatay.
Meanwhile, the list of countries pledging support in the form of financial aid or rescue teams is growing. The images show how rescuers and sniffer dogs are en route to Turkey from Greece, Hungary, Switzerland, Mexico and Germany, for example. Rescuers are also traveling from the city of Los Angeles and countries such as South Korea and Japan.
The United States, France, the United Kingdom and dozens of other countries had already promised Turkey to send aid on Monday. A Dutch rescue team, consisting of 65 people and eight rescue dogs, landed in Turkish Adana on Monday evening.
Australia, New Zealand and China will provide a financial contribution of EUR 6.5 million, EUR 1 million and EUR 5.5 million respectively. Humanitarian equipment with food, medical supplies and blankets from Iran and Iraq arrived in Syria early Tuesday morning. Iran has also promised humanitarian aid to Syria.
The Dutch rescue team has arrived in Turkey
06:20 | The Dutch USAR search and rescue team has arrived in Turkey. After the strong earthquake, the country asked for help. From the Netherlands, 65 people and eight rescue dogs are on their way to carry out rescue work. “We are almost fully booked and then we will enter the affected area,” USAR team spokesman Jop Heinen told BNR.
Another heavy aftershock in Turkey
05:50 | This morning Turkey was rocked again by a strong aftershock of magnitude 5.3, the Euro-Mediterranean Seismological Center (EMSC) reported. More than a hundred aftershocks with magnitudes of 7.8 and 7.5 followed Monday’s strong earthquakes. There was also a 5.3 magnitude earthquake on Monday evening.
The World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Monday of the danger of aftershocks. They can cause damaged buildings to collapse.
Heavy rain and snow complicate rescue operations in the disaster area
04:50 | Rescuers searching for survivors in southeastern Turkey after Monday morning’s devastating earthquakes faced challenging weather conditions during the night from Monday to Tuesday. According to a BBC journalist in the Turkish town of Osmaniye, not far from the epicenter, search and rescue operations continued during the night despite the pouring rain.
The British broadcaster reports that there is no electricity in the city. The images show how a family spends the night on the street, despite sub-zero temperatures. Due to the risk of major aftershocks, people are too afraid to sleep in a building, according to the BBC reporter. According to foreign media in Syria and Turkey, there are thousands of people sleeping in cars or outside for this reason.
In addition to more rainfall, snow is also expected in the disaster area in the coming days, writes the New York Times based on Turkish meteorological offices. The temperature around the hard-hit Turkish city of Gaziantep remains below freezing at night.
WHO: Earthquake death toll could rise eight-fold
02:25 | The World Health Organization (WHO) fears that the death toll from earthquakes in Turkey and Syria could rise eight-fold in the coming weeks. Catherine Smallwood, who is involved in emergency situations in Europe on behalf of the WHO, told AFP as the death toll in both countries reached 2,600. You do not rule out that the death toll could exceed 20,000.
‘Unfortunately this is what we often see in earthquakes; after the first reports, the number of deaths and injuries rises significantly in the following week,” said Smallwood. “There is also the risk of further collapses of damaged buildings”. WHO also said yesterday that the death toll could increase “significantly”.
Biden promises Erdogan “any help imaginable” in a phone call
00:25 | US President Joe Biden promises to send his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan “all the help” needed to recover from the devastating earthquakes The two leaders spoke by phone on Monday evening (Dutch time).
“In that conversation, Biden reaffirmed the willingness of the United States to provide all assistance to our NATO ally, Turkey,” the White House said in a statement. Earlier in the day, Biden said on Twitter that he was “deeply saddened” by “the loss of life and devastation caused by the earthquake in Turkey and Syria.”
US teams will soon be deployed to support Turkish search and rescue teams, according to the White House statement. From the Netherlands, such a team of 65 people and 8 rescue dogs has already landed in Turkish Adana to help search for earthquake survivors.