“It was the apocalypse”: survivors in shock after two earthquakes in Turkey
“We thought it was the apocalypse.” Melisa Salman, 23, a local journalist in Kahramanmaras, the province where the epicenter of two powerful earthquakes that hit southeastern Turkey is located, had never experienced such strong tremors. “It’s an earthquake region, so we’re used to tremors. But we’ve never been through such a thingshe told Agence France-Presse (AFP), still in shock, about the first earthquake of magnitude 7.8 which hit the country at 4:17 a.m. local time (1:17 a.m. GMT).
“We’ve been out since 4:30 this morning. Raining cats and dogs. But no one dares to return because of new tremors”, she says. Those who had dared to return to their apparently intact homes in the morning had to evacuate in panic when a new earthquake of magnitude 7.5 occurred at 10:24 GMT.
Tulin Akkaya in Diyarbakir, also in southeastern Turkey, is one of them. The young woman in her thirties, who lives on the top floor of her building in the Kayapinar district of Diyarbakir, “quickly” felt the tremors. “We went out in a panic. It was almost the same as this morning. I’m so scared now, I can’t go back to my apartment, I don’t know what’s going to happen”, she told AFP. More than 50 aftershocks had been recorded before the most powerful.
Despite the tremors, the emergency services, often supported by residents, continue to search for victims. A 6-year-old girl was saved in Kahramanmaras after hours of work by rescuers helped by her father who was busy wearing short sleeves in the snow. A total of three children were rescued from the rubble of this completely ruined building.
“I was able to save three people. But I also carried two bodies. I can’t go home. I’m staying in case they need me.”, says Halis Aktemur, a 35-year-old worker who came to help rescuers in Diyarbakir. The drop in temperatures as night approaches worries the inhabitants of the affected regions. The untouched sports halls or wedding halls welcome people who cannot return to their homes in Diyarbakir.