6.0 magnitude earthquake rocks eastern Turkey

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

A 6.0-magnitude earthquake struck Başyurt, in the Elazığ province of eastern Turkey at 04:32 AM (02:32 GMT) on Monday. According to the local Kandilli observatory, the quake struck at a depth of five kilometres; the epicenter was near Karakoçan town in the same province.

The pre-dawn earthquake killed at least 40 people and almost 100 were injured. The village of Okçular was worst hit, claimed the press secretary for the provincial governor, Özcan Yalçın. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, nearly five hours later, a magnitude-5.5 aftershock hit the province. 40 other aftershocks followed shortly, the highest of them being 4.4 magnitude, according to sources.

While no deaths were immediately reported, the government's crisis management center soon put the toll at seventeen with another 60 injured according to the officials at Ankara, the capital. It was soon confirmed that at least 39 were dead; the toll is expected to rise. At least four of the victims were children.

Muammer Erol, the provincial governor of Elazığ, stated Okçular, Yukarıkanatlı and Kayalık accounted for majority of the dead. He told CNN Turk that "villages consisting mainly of mud-brick houses have been damaged, but we have minimal damage such as cracks in buildings made of cement or stone".

Okçular, the largest of the affected villages, accounted for at least seventeen of the dead. The village has a population of 800, and the majority of the dwellers live in mud-brick homes built on hillsides. About 25 to 30 houses were demolished in this village. "The village is totally flattened," Hasan Demirdağ, local administrator, told NTV.

Yadin Apaydin, the administrator of Yukarıkanatlı, said his village had been severely affected. "Everything has been knocked down - there is not a stone in place," he told CNN's Turkey sister network, CNN Türk.

"Many houses have collapsed. Search and rescue teams have been sent to the area," said the prime minister's office in a statement. Injured people are being rushed to local hospitals according to sources. At least 100 people have been taken to hospital. Some who panicked after the first quake jumped from balconies or windows were injured.

Rescue workers, consisting of policemen as well as civilians dug with shovels to rescue people from the debris. The Turkish Red Crescent is also sending tents and blankets to be distributed. Neighboring districts are providing ambulances to assist the victims. Cemil Çiçek, deputy Prime Minister of Turkey has left for the disaster area. Health Minister Recep Akdağ, Housing Minister Mustafa Demir and State Minister Cevdet Yılmaz are accompanying him.

According to CNN Türk, the tremor of the earthquake was felt in the adjacent provinces of Bitlis and Diyarbakır, causing residents to panic.

Turkey lies on highly active fault lines and earthquakes often hit the nation. A 7.4-magnitude earthquake in Istanbul killed 20,000 people in August 1999. Most of the earthquakes that hit Turkey are usually minor.

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2010 Turkey earthquake

Sources

"Strong quake hits eastern Turkey" — BBC News Online, March 8, 2010
Mahmut Bozarslan. "Strong Turkey quake kills 41" — Agence France-Presse, March 8, 2010
Ivan Watson and Yesim Comert. "Dozens dead from earthquake in Turkey" — CNN, March 8, 2010

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