Earthquake death toll in Turkey, Syria passes 25,000

KAHRAMANMARAS, Turkey – Even after the wounded are treated and the trapped are freed from the rubble, the disaster of the earthquakes in Turkey may continue due to less immediate dangers.

The aftershocks of the earthquake could also manifest in a lack of water and sanitation, as well as frigid temperatures.

IsraAID’s initial exploratory team assessed that clean water would be one of the major problems for area residents following the tremors. “There will be a massive need for clean water,” said IsraAID press officer Shachar May.

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant announced on Monday evening his approval of a plan to establish an IDF field hospital in Turkey to provide treatment to those wounded by the disastrous earthquakes that shook the region on Sunday night and Monday.

Irit Lillian, Israel's ambassador to Turkey, spoke on Monday evening with reporters from Israel's 103FM radio station regarding the devastating earthquake that hit the nation on Sunday night and again on Monday. 

"Ankara also experienced a small earthquake today," began Lillian. "Tremors from the large quake at noon. People came out of buildings onto the street - it was like what you felt in Israel. The [more] difficult sights are, of course, coming from the site of the disaster; it's the kind of thing that cannot be described. Houses that seemed perfectly stable [were] falling apart before people's eyes like houses of cards.

"The fact that the number of dead and injured is increasing each moment...before they even started clearing the ruins - it's awful. It's heartbreaking."

President Joe Biden and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan are expected to speak soon in the wake of a deadly earthquake in Turkey and northwest Syria on Monday, White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said.

The call will come as top US leaders have pledged to provide Turkey with aid.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke by phone with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Monday about the huge earthquake that killed more than 2,700 people across a swathe of Turkey and northwest Syria.

State Department spokesperson Ned Price told reporters the United States is looking at additional funding resources that are available to respond to the earthquake on both sides of the border.

The Swedish presidency of the European Union has activated the integrated political crisis response (IPCR) to coordinate EU support measures in response to the earthquake in Turkey and Syria, the EU Council said in a statement on Monday.

The IPCR arrangements strengthen the EU's ability to take rapid decisions when facing major cross-sectoral crises requiring a response at the EU level.

Through this mechanism, the presidency of the Council coordinates the political response to the crisis by bringing together EU institutions, member states and other key actors.

Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana met with the Turkish Ambassador to Israel Sakir Ozkan Torunlar on Monday to express his formal condolences on behalf of the Knesset for the great losses experienced by Turkey today in the wake of the devastating earthquakes that shook the nation on Sunday night and Monday morning.

Ohana presented the ambassador with a letter of condolence intended for the head of the Turkish parliament Mustafa Şentop, as well as the Turkish people and the families of those who perished. 

In the letter, Ohana stated that Israel is prepared to provide humanitarian aid and assist in reconstruction efforts.

The municipal city hall of Tel Aviv lit up with the Turkish flag on Monday evening in a show of solidarity following devastating earthquakes that killed thousands and injured tens of thousands in Turkey and Syria.

"Our hearts go out to the people of Turkey in light of this catastrophic event," Tel Aviv mayor Ron Huldai wrote on Twitter.

Tonight, City Hall is lit with the Turkish flag. Our hearts go out to the people of Turkey in light of this catastrophic event 🇮🇱🇹🇷

Kalbimiz depremden zarar görenlerin yanında. pic.twitter.com/lnL9qMZ1Nr

— Mayor of Tel Aviv (@MayorOfTelAviv) February 6, 2023

The powerful earthquake with a magnitude of 7.5 that has so far killed more than 2,600 people in Turkey and Syria and also affected Cyprus, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, Georgia, and Armenia has shaken up a lot of worried people in the region.

While current earthquake monitoring technology can provide early warning for earthquakes on land, those that occur on the seabed are usually detected late – up to tens of seconds after they started and can result in fatalities. 

In a new study published in Nature’s Scientific Reports journal, an international team of researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HU) showed that existing fiber-optic cables used worldwide for Internet communication on the seabed can detect seabed earthquakes half a minute earlier than current methods.

It could take Israel over a decade to be ready for getting hit by an expected eventual large earthquake even if it started to do all of the right things immediately, a senior source familiar with the matter has told The Jerusalem Post.

“It will take a long time to carry out the plan,” for improving the structural integrity of buildings across the country, “but it would take longer to rebuild after an earthquake. I don’t know how it would be handled. It could take more than 10 years,” said the senior official.

The massive earthquake in Turkey that has caused widespread destruction to Turkey and northwestern Syria will have ramifications across the Middle East. Some of these will result in aid flowing to the affected regions and it may have important consequences for relations between countries in the Middle East.

As time goes by it will be important to monitor how the earthquake affects the countries involved. The following is a list of some of the important issues involved: