Turkey’s deadliest earthquake since 1939 has raised questions about whether such a tragedy could have been avoided and whether President Erdogan’s government could have done more to save lives.
With elections on the horizon, his future is on the line after 20 years in power and his pleas for national unity have gone unheeded.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan has acknowledged shortcomings in the response, but appeared to blame fate on a visit to a disaster zone: “Such things have always happened. It’s part of fate’s plan.”
Turkey lies on two fault lines and has seismic building codes that are more than 80 years old. But last Monday’s twin earthquake was more intense than anything seen since 1939. The first earthquake registered a magnitude of 7.8 at 04:17, followed by another 7.5 dozen miles away.
Delay in search and rescue
It required large-scale rescue operations in 10 of Turkey’s 81 provinces.
But it took time to get a response in its construction and some villages could not be reached for several days. More than 30,000 people from the professional and voluntary sector eventually arrived, along with teams from many other countries.
More than 6,000 buildings collapsed in the earthquake and Turkey’s Afad Disaster Authority workers were left stranded.
Those early hours were critical, but roads were damaged and search and rescue teams struggled to make it into the second or third day.
Turkey has experienced more earthquakes than almost any other country, but the founder of the Central Volunteer Rescue Group believes politics got in the way this time.
The operation was led by the armed forces after the last major earthquake in August 1999, but the Erdogan government has tried to curb their power in Turkish society.
Akot Foundation volunteers have joined the government’s main disaster agency in the search for survivors
