The earthquake that struck Turkey last year left thousands of victims and wounded and massive destruction of buildings (Getty)
That was a year ago today. News of an earthquake has arrived in the eastern states of Türkiye. Frankly, we did not realize that day that this earthquake would be the largest and most devastating earthquake in the last 100 years.
After clarifying the information, we realized that a major disaster had befallen us. Two separate earthquakes measuring 7.7 on the Richter scale struck 11 states in an area the size of the Balkans, and then immediately went into the quake zone.
A child who grew up in the wake of earthquakes
I grew up in a city that was prone to earthquakes. The city of Sakarya is located on a fault line that has witnessed large, devastating earthquakes. In my childhood, we always grew up hearing the terrifying stories of the great earthquake that occurred in 1968. Then I personally witnessed that terrifying tremor in 1999.
An earthquake measuring 7.4 on the Richter scale struck our city, causing massive destruction. Our loved ones, relatives and neighbors were buried under the rubble. The streets, homes and schools that carry our memories were completely destroyed, and we lost about 18,000 people in 1999.
When I visited cities during the 2023 earthquake, I realized that we had witnessed a larger and more devastating earthquake than any we had experienced before.
Cities wiped off the map
11 states were affected by the earthquake, but 5 cities suffered massive destruction. I started going through them one by one.
Hatay, Adiyaman, Kahramanmaraş, Malatya, Gaziantep… This large geographical area, with a population of about 13 million people, it was impossible to meet all the needs of search and rescue work.
The screams of people trapped under the rubble, waiting for someone to rescue them, did not leave our ears. We were desperately doing our journalism, and trying to help at the same time.
The winter was very harsh and cold that night. People from all over Türkiye rushed to help, but it was not enough. The destruction was so great that some city districts were completely destroyed, as they were inaccessible. Some areas of these cities have now disappeared from the map.
A wonderful example of solidarity
Government institutions were unable to deal with a disaster of this magnitude. So, everyone in the country jumped in to help. Businessmen were sending their cranes, excavators, generators, and machinery to the region, even clothing and food.
On the other hand, help was not only from Turkey, but from many countries of the world. Our biggest problem was the lack of search and rescue teams. Then came the need for tents and containers for shelter.
During this period, Qatar occupied a special place in the hearts of the Turkish people thanks to its assistance. Thanks to the great efforts made by His Excellency Sheikh Mohammed bin Nasser bin Jassim Al Thani, Qatar's Ambassador to Ankara, and His Excellency Dr. Mustafa Koksu, Turkey's Ambassador to Doha, 1,000 tons of in-kind aid and $56 million in cash aid were sent to Turkey.
The stories of solidarity I saw in the cities cannot be forgotten. People have united like no other, and neither politics, religion, nor intellectual differences have been able to break this union.
I can say that we have passed the test of solidarity as a nation in this great disaster, but the same cannot be said about politicians.
A catastrophic toll
We could not know the number of casualties, wounded and the number of destroyed buildings for a long time. It also took government institutions 15 days to return to full operation.
But when we looked at the bigger picture that emerged, we realized that no country in the world could handle such a disaster alone. The outcome was as follows:
57 thousand people lost their lives.
107 thousand people were injured.
200 thousand buildings were severely damaged.
38 thousand buildings were completely destroyed.
13 million people were affected by this earthquake.
Also, 691,000 people are still living in containers.
We have to live with earthquakes
Türkiye is a country of earthquakes. Large devastating earthquakes have occurred over hundreds of years. Unfortunately, we did not build our cities accordingly. Most of the buildings that collapsed in the recent earthquake were not built according to earthquake-resistant building standards.
Our institutions were not prepared for such large-scale earthquakes. Now we draw lessons from all of this. From it we must draw lessons; Because we expect another big earthquake in Istanbul.
Most of the city (Istanbul) is full of buildings that are not resistant to earthquakes. We will probably do the world's largest urban transformation in Istanbul.
Accordingly, about 1.5 million buildings must undergo urban transformation. Of these buildings, 90,000 buildings must be demolished and rebuilt immediately. Also, roads, squares, dams, bridges and tunnels are being reviewed, and some of them are being strengthened.
In short, we must be prepared for new earthquakes without forgetting February 6, 2023.