Turkey Devastated by Earthquakes - happening NOW

[Eichhörnchen]

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-64537446

Looking very grim indeed

[August]

Terrible.

[Aktungbby]

...and they always seem to occur at an ungodly hour of the night when your snug in bed. 04:15 in this case; as opposed to 02:30ish in both of the Napa Quakes...2000 and 2014. In both tremors I immediately circled my own block with a gas-meter wrench sniffing for leaks and turning off meters as requested by the neighbors. The 2000 one epicentered 500 yards NW from my home and destroyed my solid brick chimney and rear stucco. The 2014 destroyed downtown Napa and killed people.The 7.9 Loma Prieta in 1989 epicentered and totally destroyed houses in the Santa Cruz Mtns, collapsed bridges in San Francisco and caused loss of life, both my principal real-estate appraisal territories. At least that was at a decent hour...17:00; as I was in my vehicle watching the street lamps sway violently before reversing course to speed back to our mid-Peninsula apartment to check on my newborn infant and her elderly Indian nanny. I later was approached by and dutifully surrendered my otherwise confidential appraisal files, with critical photos, of several years work to FEMA to assist mountain property owners in getting government assistance. No charge!

[Eichhörnchen]

^ How on earth do you manage to get buildings insurance out there?

[Jimbuna]

Each news flash brings with it an increase in fatalities :nope:

[Aktungbby]

^ How on earth do you manage to get buildings insurance out there?

$$$$$$$:O: ...all of which translates to $1400 extra per annum, with a reasonable $40k deductable. I had noted in my 15 year appraisal career that home prices remain utterly unaffected by "acts of god"; and, as a review appraiser, countered several fraudulent appraisers who reflected otherwise...using their own altered report data; often in court as an expert witness. Most appraisers only do basic tract home stuff, not individual mtn homes on acreage, SF's classic mansions or "painted ladies" or 'celebrity architected properties'. These became my career niche; which I could charge more for and which others preferred to simply refer over to me. Being a history jock doing RE appraisal research was an easy transition. Avoiding bribes by desperate borrowers and making certain new construction, especially in the mountains, had all their permits was essential. Either one would immediately terminate my services. Earthquake insurance be damned; my errors and omissions appraisal insurance cost more...and I had to keep it up for five years even after switching careers to law enforcement to cover my a$$ during the 'statute of limitations' period as required under law.:doh:

[Platapus]

That area got hit with two Mag 7+ earthquakes in the same day. :(

[August]

Poor people.

[d@rk51d3]

That area got hit with two Mag 7+ earthquakes in the same day. :(

Checking the volcanoes & earthquakes app, theres been about 35 separate epicenters in turkey over the last 24 hours.

[Onkel Neal]

Man, the scale of destruction is mind boggling. Entire cities leveled. And I imagine many of the structures that are still standing will need to be condemned and torn down. :06:

[Aktungbby]

...all this misery on top of the civil war that had already left 90% of Syrian dependent on government assistance. It will be interesting to see Bashir al-Assad "step up to the plate." in this massive civil crisis. Even Israel, the US, and Turkey, both enemies, are sending assistance along with Russia, China and Arab states... :hmmm:https://static01.nyt.com/images/2023/02/06/world/06quake-syria/06quake-syria-superJumbo.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/06/world/middleeast/syrian-humanitarian-crisis-earthquake.html Syria is demanding control of all humanitarian aid...yeah right: https://www.wilsoncenter.org/article/damascus-weaponization-humanitarian-aid-should-be-focus-upcoming-un-cross-border-resolution Throughout the protracted Syrian conflict, the Government of Syria has systematically manipulated humanitarian aid as a military tactic, a political bargaining chip, and as a means of self-financing. Consequently, since 2016 or earlier, independent analysts within the Syria crisis response have advocated to institutional donors that cross-line aid must be, at the very least, complemented by aid delivered through a cross-border modality. Although it remains a vital lifeline to opposition-held northwest Syria, the mechanism authorizing the entire UN-based cross-border aid architecture is now on the verge of collapsing in the face of a veto threat by Russia. Unless it is renewed through a UN Security Council vote by July 10, the cross-border system will be eliminated, and all UN aid will be delivered exclusively through Government of Syria areas. While aid practitioners are well-acquainted with incidents of aid manipulation by Damascus, such incidents are not common knowledge. As policymakers push for renewal of the cross-border mechanism, it is helpful to consider patterns of aid instrumentalization which demonstrate that cross-line aid delivery through Damascus — backed by Russia — cannot be effective or principled. :timeout: :nope:

[Jimbuna]

Current death toll stands at a little over 5000 with some sources predicting an eventual total in excess of 20000 :nope:

[Dargo]

In both Syria and Turkey, the death toll from the earthquakes has continued to rise. Altogether, the death toll is now at least 6,300. The latest information from Turkish authorities speaks of 4544 dead. That is over a thousand more than President Erdoğan had announced in the early afternoon. At least 1,800 people in Syria were killed in the disaster. That is over 100 more than in the previous update of the death toll.

[Jimbuna]

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is in the earthquake disaster zone in his country as criticism grows over the official response.

Families in some badly-hit areas have said the slow speed of rescue efforts means they have had no help digging through ruins to find relatives.

Erdogan acknowledged there'd been difficulties with the initial response but blamed delays on damaged roads and airports.

"We survived the earthquake, but we will die here due to hunger or cold," said a 64-year-old in Antakya, Hatay province.

More than 11,000 people in southern Turkey and northern Syria are now known to have been killed.

The White Helmets, who are leading efforts to rescue people in rebel-held areas Syria, say time is running out to save people.

Dramatic footage has emerged of rescues - one family of six were pulled alive from the rubble in the Syrian city of Idlib.

[mapuc]

Each time I see video clips from Turkey and all the demolished buildings following comes into my mind:

Sloppy construction-How many of these collapsed buildings have been sloppy constructed ??

I know the Turkish government implemented a kind of earthquake clause in the building rules-If I remember correctly they did this 20 or 30 years ago.

(the memory about this is faint..Don't hang me up on it.)

Markus

[Jimbuna]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wupZlaQT58Q

[Skybird]

Mesut Hançer on day 1 of the quake. He holds the hand of his dead daughter.

https://www.sueddeutsche.de/image/sz.1.5747120?v=1675866231





Such is the life of a man.
Moments of joy, obliterated by unforgettable sadness.
There's no need to tell the children that.

- Marcel Pagnol: Le château de ma mère -

[Jimbuna]

^ I've no objection to the above but when I saw that on FB earlier today I was reluctant to post it for fear of upsetting anyone.

[Skybird]

^ I've no objection to the above but when I saw that on FB earlier today I was reluctant to post it for fear of upsetting anyone.

It can be cathartic to let a tragic impression take hold. We already have enough phrasemongering and pseudo-concern in the media and the public stage, shallow sentimentality and cheap sensation consuming. This photo leaves an impression, it is a strong message about some basic truth we mortals must accept in our lives, and that comes at a cost, and it is a grim message. Our religions deal a lot with it, some with offering false escapes, others with attempts to indeed help us learn and transform through the suffering. I saw the picture, and it touched me so much that it brought tears to my eyes. And that is good. What kind of person would I be if it were otherwise?

"Strong and noble is he whose eye endures all things, but who in his heart feels all things." (Philippe Noiret in La fille de d'Artagnan)

That poor man. I felt distanced to the events, since my impressions from my time in Turkey predominantly were not positive. I went wrong when allowing that bias. This image changed it all for me. 11000 dead is an anonymous statistic. One single man gives the tragedy a face.

[Aktungbby]

...and they always seem to occur at an ungodly hour of the night when your snug in bed.

Mesut Hançer on day 1 of the quake. He holds the hand of his dead daughter.

https://www.sueddeutsche.de/image/sz.1.5747120?v=1675866231


^ I've no objection to the above but when I saw that on FB earlier today I was reluctant to post it for fear of upsetting anyone.

It can be cathartic to let a tragic impression take hold. One single man gives the tragedy a face. I had forbeared initially myself to post the photo for the same reason Jimbuna didn't; but upon reflection and as the father of an only daughter, and Sky's moving post comments, have changed my mind 180⁰. It is an exceedingly eloquent moment caught on film.

[Aktungbby]

In today's WSJ: "Turkish authorities have widened a crackdown on those allegedly involved in shoddy construction practices and looting in cities across southern Turkey devastated by last week's earthquakes, making dozens of arrests as hope faded of finding more survivors in collapsed buildings. Relatives of some victims said they feared that the government investigation into why some buildings toppled and others remained standing would focus on lower-level offenders, not politically connected builders and government officials who approved questionable projects. The toll between Turkey and Syria stands at 35,000. Turkish minister of justice, Bekir Bozdag vowed that no one would escape punishment for the negligence that led to the collapse of buildings. Looting has been reported of damaged shops and aid distribution centers; mostly by hungry food-seekers. At least 113 other builders, architects and engineers are already in custody, according to Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay."

[Catfish]

^ the wrong heads will roll.
The turkish government took the evaluation right of constructing houses away from turkish architects decades ago, the time after you could buy your "certificate" from the government (read: BRIBE).
If you paid enough money, your old ramshackle hut got the certificate just as a new one built of sand.

So if just of all the turkish government wants to see heads roll it should be their own.

[Skybird]

In many places, foreign aid deliveries were only allowed in after containers and crates were plastered over with emblems of the AKP or the Turkish Disaster Management Organization in order to generate the "right" media images. Shameless. Indecent. Repulsive. Typical Erdoghan.

[Aktungbby]

^ the wrong heads will roll.
The turkish government took the evaluation right of constructing houses away from turkish architects decades ago, the time after you could buy your "certificate" from the government (read: BRIBE).
If you paid enough money, your old ramshackle hut got the certificate just as a new one built of sand.

So if just of all the turkish government wants to see heads roll it should be their own.

In many places, foreign aid deliveries were only allowed in after containers and crates were plastered over with emblems of the AKP or the Turkish Disaster Management Organization in order to generate the "right" media images. Shameless. Indecent. Repulsive. Typical Erdoghan.Now yer both talkin' Turkey in the uniquely 'Merikan sense of the concept!:O: