Turkey’s southeastern province of Hatay has been among the country’s worst-affected regions from the earthquake on Monday morning that has already seen its death toll exceed 5,000 in Turkey and northern Syria. As rescue efforts stretch into their second day and wintry weather conditions persist, survivors spoke with Medyascope correspondents on the ground, decrying the lack of aid from Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD), Turkey’s disaster-response ministry.
Many victims in Hatay’s provincial capital of Antakya continue to wait for rescue under rubble over 36 hours since the earthquake first struck on early Monday morning (February 7). In the Cebrail neighborhood, Ali Ezer, a relative of local residents, described how his family members inhabit the ground floor of an 8-story apartment building that had collapsed. While his family members have still not been rescued, he has been able to communicate with them verbally as their voices can be heard through the rubble. Ezer described in exasperated terms how AFAD assistance had still not arrived at the scene, and how local volunteers were instead trying to free the trapped victims.
Similar stories of family members trying to free relatives by their own means with shovels were heard around Antakya and in social media posts from the area on Monday night and Tuesday morning. Describing how AFAD units had failed to arrive, Ezer said: “The shovel we were using at the site of the collapsed building was too small and was not able to reach deep enough. They [those trapped under the rubble] are shouting out to us, not just those 4 from our unit but also residents from the other apartment units as well. We need AFAD to send vehicles, they must send a team as soon as possible. Unless they do, we will be unable to reach under this building.”
Hatay provincial governor Lütfü Savaş also spoke to Medyascope, describing how emergency relief services were unable to keep up with soaring demands. Saying that 1,200 buildings in the province had collapsed, Savaş said “Hatay is a very spread-out region, 51% of it is rural. We simply don’t have the means to reach every area, we can’t keep up with the demand for relief. People could die from hypothermia in these conditions. For this reason, the sooner the rescue crews can come, the more lives will be saved.”
Meanwhile, the destruction of Hatay’s public hospital, city hall building, the airport runway, and many local roads leading into the province as a result of the quake have made the relief efforts even more challenging. In the port city of Iskenderun, also located in Hatay province, a fire set ablaze by the quake among shipping containers was reportedly still burning Tuesday morning.
As AFAD relief efforts have lagged behind soaring demand for help in the province, many survivors and relatives of those trapped under rubble have become despondent. Speaking to Medyascope, a middle-aged man who lives near Antakya’s city center said: “No one is coming to help. Do they think I have enough strength to lift this building?” This resident was still waiting for a sibling and nephew to be rescued from under their collapsed apartment building.
Other residents took to social media to request help from the disaster response agency, saying other communication channels had been unsuccessful, with the hashtags #afaddeprem and #AFADHatay trending on Twitter throughout Tuesday.
Volkan Demirel, former professional footballer and current manager of Hatay’s local Hatayspor soccer team, which competes in Turkey’s top-level Superlig, posted a video on social media begging help be brought to the province. Christian Atsu, a Ghanaian footballer who plays for the club, was rescued from the rubble of his collapsed building midday on Tuesday with minor injuries.
On Tuesday morning, Turkish Minister of Environment and Urban Planning Murat Kurum released the following statement regarding AFAD’s disaster response at a press conference in which he indicated that the organization’s relief efforts would continue despite criticisms over insufficient response: “We will not allow any coordination other than the coordination facilitated by AFAD. Our nation can be at ease; our president and our government are currently working in the disaster zone with all their available means.”
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