Strong earthquake hits eastern Turkey

[jattafridi]

video click here
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8554857.stm

updated at 10:39 GMT, Monday, 8 March 2010

A strong earthquake has struck eastern Turkey, killing at least 57 people, officials have said.

The 6.0-magnitude quake, centred on the village of Basyurt in Elazig province, struck at 0432 (0232 GMT). It has been followed by more than 40 aftershocks.

Officials said the nearby village of Okcular had been destroyed and several others badly damaged.

A number of people are believed to be trapped underneath collapsed buildings, many of which were built of mud-bricks.

"Villages consisting mainly of mud-brick houses have been damaged, but we have minimal damage such as cracks in buildings made of cement or stone," Elazig Governor Muammer Erol told CNN Turk.

Everything has been knocked down - there is not a stone in place

Yadin Apaydin
Administrator for Yukari Kanatli


How earthquakes happen
At least 17 of the dead came from the largest village, Okcular, where up to 30 houses collapsed, rescuers said.

"The village is totally flattened," Okcular's administrator, Hasan Demirdag, told NTV.

Television footage from Okcular showed rescue workers and soldiers digging among the rubble of collapsed buildings as villagers looked on.

Ali Riza Ferhat, a resident, said he had been asleep in his home when the earthquake struck.

"I tried to get out of the door but it wouldn't open. I came out of the window and started helping my neighbours," he told NTV. "We removed six bodies."



The nearby villages of Yukari Kanatli, Kayalik, Gocmezler and Yukari Demirci were also badly damaged and reported deaths.

"Everything has been knocked down - there is not a stone in place," Yadin Apaydin, the administrator for Yukari Kanatli, told CNN Turk.

At least 50 people have been taken to hospital, officials say. Some were reportedly hurt during the panic after the first earthquake, when they jumped from windows or balconies.

Residents of the affected villages have been warned not to return to damaged homes while the area continues to be hit by aftershocks, the strongest of which has so far measured 5.5.

The government disaster management centre and Turkish Red Crescent have already sent blankets and tents to the area to provide emergency shelter for survivors.



Many people in the villages lived in mud-brick homes built on hillsides
Deputy Prime Minister Cemil Cicek and three other ministers have travelled to the earthquake zone to provide assistance.

Turkey is plagued by earthquakes - generally minor - because of its location on the North Anatolian fault line.

A 7.4-magnitude tremor which hit the western city of Izmit in August 1999 killed more than 17,000 people.

The BBC's Jonathan Head in Istanbul says poor quality buildings were also blamed for the high death toll then and there is still concern in Turkey's largest city, where seismologists predict a major earthquake will occur within the next few decades.

[lakha84]

ALLAH khair karey

[DHONI183]

انّا للہ و انّا الیہ راجعون
^Verily, unto Allah do we belong and, verily, unto Him we shall return^

Earthquakes are hitting now almost on daily basis...... I fear Allah of day when we might just be one of its victims..........

[Jadz]

I echo Dhoni's du'aa - may Allah SWT Bless HIS suffering multitudes. And may HE enable us to see and understand HIS Signs before it is too late.

On a side note, some Christian denominations are currently reading/studying The Book Of Revelations because they believe - or think - the end times have arrived.

Allahu 'Alim.

[lil saeed anwar]

Allah khair karey . May Allah (SWT) keep everyone in this incident safe, and may he grant jannah to the ones who lost their lives . Inna lillahi wainna illaihi rajioon.