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Powerful earthquake shakes eastern Turkey
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| 1. |
23 Oct 2011 Sun 02:59 pm |
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Powerful earthquake shakes eastern Turkey
 AP – 5 mins ago
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — A powerful earthquake struck eastern Turkey Sunday, collapsing at least two buildings in the center of eastern city of Van, the mayor said.
"Two buildings collapsed in Van, but the telephone system is jammed due to panic and we can´t assess the entire damage immediately," Bekir Kaya, the mayor of Van, told NTV television.
The state-run Anatolia news agency said rescue workers were trying to reach people believed to be trapped under the wreckage of a seven-story building in Van, close to the Iranian border.
The earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.3 struck eastern Turkey at 1:41 p.m. (1041 GMT; 6:41 a.m. EDT), the U.S. Geological Survey said. It said the quake had a depth of 7.2 kilometers (4.5 miles), which is shallow and could potentially cause more damage.
Turkey´s Kandilli observatory gave it a preliminary magnitude of 6.6 but put its depth at 5 kilometers. Several aftershocks as strong as magnitude 5.5 followed, the observatory said
The quake´s epicenter was in the village of Tabanli in eastern Van province, bordering Iran.
The quake was strongly felt in neighboring provinces, NTV television said.
Earthquakes are frequent in Turkey, which is crossed by faultlines.
In 1999, about 18,000 people were killed by two powerful earthquakes that struck northwestern Turkey.
Note : I hope there is not many deaths and injured..
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| 2. |
23 Oct 2011 Sun 06:02 pm |
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I pray our dear brothers and sisters are well and pray for the souls of the departed. We, in CA have been having a series of small earthquakes (4. in the last few days, and are concerned about having larger ones.
Powerful earthquake shakes eastern Turkey
AP – 5 mins ago
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — A powerful earthquake struck eastern Turkey Sunday, collapsing at least two buildings in the center of eastern city of Van, the mayor said.
"Two buildings collapsed in Van, but the telephone system is jammed due to panic and we can´t assess the entire damage immediately," Bekir Kaya, the mayor of Van, told NTV television.
The state-run Anatolia news agency said rescue workers were trying to reach people believed to be trapped under the wreckage of a seven-story building in Van, close to the Iranian border.
The earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.3 struck eastern Turkey at 1:41 p.m. (1041 GMT; 6:41 a.m. EDT), the U.S. Geological Survey said. It said the quake had a depth of 7.2 kilometers (4.5 miles), which is shallow and could potentially cause more damage.
Turkey´s Kandilli observatory gave it a preliminary magnitude of 6.6 but put its depth at 5 kilometers. Several aftershocks as strong as magnitude 5.5 followed, the observatory said
The quake´s epicenter was in the village of Tabanli in eastern Van province, bordering Iran.
The quake was strongly felt in neighboring provinces, NTV television said.
Earthquakes are frequent in Turkey, which is crossed by faultlines.
In 1999, about 18,000 people were killed by two powerful earthquakes that struck northwestern Turkey.
Note : I hope there is not many deaths and injured..
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| 3. |
23 Oct 2011 Sun 06:14 pm |
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Number of victims may rise up to one thousand. Turkey has gone through some hard times recently. Wish you patience.
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| 4. |
23 Oct 2011 Sun 07:47 pm |
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Number of victims may rise up to one thousand. Turkey has gone through some hard times recently. Wish you patience.
In 70´s, the same region saw another 7.5 quake and ~4000 died.
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| 5. |
23 Oct 2011 Sun 11:16 pm |
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Up to 1,000 people were feared dead today after a powerful earthquake hit Turkey.
The 7.2-magnitude tremor devastated parts of Van province in the east of the country, collapsing dozens of buildings into piles of twisted steel and chunks of concrete.
Desperate survivors dug into the rubble with their bare hands, trying to rescue the trapped and injured.
The worst hit was Ercis, a town of 75,000 close to the Iranian border in one of Turkey´s most earthquake-prone zones. Twenty-five to 30 buildings collapsed including a dormitory
 
At least 85 have been killed and 150 injured, but scientists estimated that up to 1,000 people could be dead, due to low housing standards in the area and the size of the quake.
An eight-storey building with shops underneath was flattened. Residents sobbed outside the ruins, hoping that missing relatives would be rescued.
CNN-Turk television showed one young man crying: ´My wife and child are inside! My 4-month-old baby is inside!´
Witnesses said eight people were rescued from the rubble, but frequent aftershocks were hampering search efforts.
´There are so many dead, but we don´t know the number,´ town mayor Zulfukar Arapoglu told NTV
 
Safe but shocked: A young woman falls to her knees in the city centre of Van
We are waiting for emergency help, it´s very urgent. We need tents urgently and rescue teams. We don´t have any ambulances, and we only have one hospital. We have many killed and injured.´
The Turkish Red Crescent reported its rescuers pulled several injured people out of a collapsed dormitory in the town, which sits on a geological fault line.
Camps were being set up to shelter people and blankets, food and water were being sent along with mobile kitchens. Military aircraft were helping with the rescue and relief efforts.
Emergency teams were trying to rescue people believed to be trapped in a building in Van, a bustling city with many apartment buildings near the Iranian border, state-run news agency Anatolian said
Residents ran onto the streets in panic as 50 wounded were taken to the hospital there, but it was not known how serious their injuries were. They were treated in the courtyard of the hospital, the state-run Anatolia news agency said.
The Kandilli Observatory, Turkey´s main seismography centre, said the earthquake struck at 1041 GMT and was 5km deep. The U.S. Geological Survey earlier reported that the magnitude was 7.6.
Eight aftershocks were recorded within three hours of the initial quake, including two with a magnitude of 5.6.
Mustafa Erdik, head of the Kandilli observatory said: ´We are estimating a death toll between 500 and 1,000.´
´There are many people under the rubble,´ Veysel Keser, mayor of Celebibag, told NTV. ´People are in agony, we can hear their screams for help. We need urgent help."
´It´s a great disaster. Many buildings have collapsed, student dormitories, hotels and gas stations have collapsed.´
Some houses also collapsed in the province of Bitlis, where at least one person, an eight-year-old girl was killed, authorities said. The quake also toppled the minarets of two mosques in the nearby province of Mus.
Television pictures showed damaged buildings and vehicles, crushed under falling masonry, and shocked residents wandering in the streets.
Race against time: Rescue efforts continue into the night to save people still trapped under debris
Turkish media said phone lines and electricity had been cut off. Aftershocks continued after the initial quake, whose epicentre was at the village of Tabanli, north of Van city.
In Hakkari, a town around 100 km (60 miles) south of the city of Van in southeastern Turkey, a building could be felt swaying for around 10 seconds during the quake. There was no immediate sign of any casualties.
Two large quakes in 1999 killed more than 20,000 people in northwest Turkey. Two people were killed and 79 injured in May when an earthquake shook Simav in northwest Turkey.
The quake also caused panic among residents in several Iranian towns, close to the Turkish border, and caused cracks in some buildings in Chaldoran and cut telephone links, said the Iranian state TV website.
The quake was also felt in Salmas, Maku, Khoi and
Note : It´s hard to find words at times like this, May God help those people and RIP those who lost their lives..
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| 6. |
24 Oct 2011 Mon 08:04 am |
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I feel sorry. watched on tv. quite a strong one.
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| 7. |
24 Oct 2011 Mon 11:52 am |
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World reacts to earthquake in eastern Turkey
ANKARA - Anatolia News Agency
Many countries from all over the world offered help and condolences to Turkey after an earthquake measuring 7.2 on the Richter scale hit the eastern province of Van on Sunday.
At least 217 people were killed and 700 others were wounded, while 970 buildings were demolished in the earthquake.
The United States, Britain, Greece, Azerbaijan, Pakistan, Israel, Ireland, Poland, Hungary, Switzerland, Bulgaria, Georgia, China, Ukraine, Russia, Canada, South Korea, Japan, Iran, Kosovo, the EU, NATO and the U.N. offered to help Turkey after the earthquake.
"We stand shoulder to shoulder with our Turkish ally in this difficult time and are ready to assist the Turkish authorities," U.S. President Barack Obama said in a statement. "On behalf of the American people, I express my deepest condolences to the families of the victims. Our thoughts and prayers are with the brave men and women who are working to bring assistance to this stricken region."
Presidents of Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), Azerbaijan, the U.S., France, Israel, Serbia and Iraq; Secretary General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu of the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC); President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy; European Parliament President Jerzy Buzek; U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon; and foreign ministers of Germany, Britain, the U.S. and Ireland called Turkish officials and offered help and condolences.
NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen also released a statement showing support in the wake of the disaster, stating: ""NATO stands ready to assist our ally Turkey, if needed."
Note : Very first country that offered help was Azerbaijan and they did, I know its very near Azerbaijan to Turkey and second one was Israel, and their aid offer was sort of rejected by Turkish authoroties as I heard. Whether Israel sincere or not about helping, it was quick responce to this tragic event. I was expecting same quick responce from other Islamic countries.. At the end of the day Turkey is quite capable to handle with situation itself..But still we want to see our brothers and friends with us...
At times like this we all should put the politics aside ..The nationality ,race or religions are not important at times like this. Humanity comes first..The value of human life is above all..
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| 8. |
24 Oct 2011 Mon 06:14 pm |
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VAN´DAKİ DEPREMZELER İÇİN SMS YOLUYLA BAĞIŞ
[Türk Kızılay´ının resmi web sitesinden]
http://secure.kizilay.org.tr/sayfaDetay.aspx?sid=27ad92e8-085f-44c8-bf42-149a5039c04b
SMS Bağışı [Donation to victims of Van Earthquake through SMS ]
Tüm operatörlerden 2868´ e boş bir mesaj (SMS) göndererek insanlığa 5 TL lik destekte bulunabilirsiniz
[ If you want to help people in Van ,You can send an empy text message to 2868 through all mobile providers [Turkcell,Vodaphone, Avea...] [ You will be charged 5 TL as donation ]
[ This money will go to Turkish Red Cross and it will be delivered to victims of Earthquake]
Note : As we are sleeping in our warm beds with full stomach people in Van are fighting to survive under tons of concrete blocks, and some of them not having a bread to eat and sleeping outisde by wrapping themselves with blankets..
5 TL kaybetmekle fakirleşmeyiz , bir gun sigara içmeyiz olur biter..
Giving away 5 TL doesnt make us poor..
Edited (10/24/2011) by tunci
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| 9. |
24 Oct 2011 Mon 08:16 pm |
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done, lets hope everyone does the same ,money wont bring back loved ones but it may give these desperate people some comfort to know we are here for them
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| 10. |
25 Oct 2011 Tue 09:54 am |
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Van still hoping to rescue quake victims
Vercihan Ziflioğlu
VAN - Hürriyet Daily News
10-year-old boy named Yunus who was caught in the earthquake at an Internet cafe in Van was rescued from the ruins after almost 24 hours. REUTERS photo
In the heart of the earthquake zone in Erciş, a district of Van province rocked by a 7.2-magnitude earthquake on Sunday, people are working together with rescue teams to dig out their loved ones from under the rubble.
İmdat Padak, 24, was among a crowd of men yesterday who was holding his mobile phone while staring at the ruins of a building. Three people from his family were buried underneath.
“I am calling them and their phones are ringing. I know they must be somewhere here,” Padak told the Hürriyet Daily News.
Erciş, a town of almost 75,000 people, now seems like a dead zone. Crowds of people are running from one place to another trying to get aid, find their relatives or help others. Zilan Street, the town’s most famous, lost all of its buildings in the quake. Dozens of people have been climbing on top of the ruins.
“They are still sending me text messages,” Ahmet Karayel said about his relatives who are buried under mounds of concrete. “They asked for water. I know they are still alive but I just do not know where exactly.”
Emergency aid teams have worked nonstop since Sunday to rescue the victims. Among the rescued is a 10-year-old boy named Yunus who was caught in the earthquake in an Internet cafe and was rescued from the ruins after almost 24 hours. Yalçın Akay, who was also rescued, was reported to have called the emergency line 155 and told them his address. Akay was rescued from a six-story building and his condition was last reported as stable.
Still, some say that the search and rescue work has been inefficient.
“The rescue teams are digging a hole, shouting for people under the rubble and trying to hear a voice. We need to have a more developed system,” said 35-year-old Resul Yılmaz. “They are working but the methods are not enough.”
Note : May God help ones that are still under the ruins waiting to be saved...Folks pray for them please..
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| 11. |
25 Oct 2011 Tue 10:08 am |
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Rescued 13-year-old dies en route to hospital
Hürriyet Daily News
The iconic image of Yunus at the moment of rescue. REUTERS Photo
Yunus Geray, 13, became a symbol of hope of the devastating earthquake in Van when a Reuters photographer captured the moment of his rescue.
The miracle lasted very briefly, because Yunus lost his life due to heart failure minutes after he was sent to the hospital.
The boy had waited hours lying under a dead body before the teams could reach him. His terrified face, with a dead hand hanging over his shoulder, was one of the most iconic images of the catastrophe that had struck the eastern cities.
Note : May God confort his soul and mercy on him...I feel so shame and disgust with myself hearing this young boy dies while I am sitting on a comfortable chair in front of my laptop commenting on this with drinking my hot tea....
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| 12. |
25 Oct 2011 Tue 02:44 pm |
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Two-week-old baby rescued alive from rubble 2 days after quake
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| Turkish search-and-rescue teams have rescued a two-week-old baby from the rubble in the Erciş district of the eastern province of Van almost two days after a strong quake hit the district. |
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Television footage on Tuesday showed rescuers in orange jumpsuits clapping as the baby, Azra Karaduman, was removed from the wreckage 47 hours after the 7.2-magnitude quake.
A rescue worker cradled the naked baby, who was then wrapped in a blanket and handed over to a medic.
Rescuers in Erciş and Van are still struggling to pull out people trapped inside mounds of concrete, twisted steel and construction debris. Authorities have warned survivors not to enter damaged buildings and thousands of people spent a second night outdoors in cars or tents in near-freezing conditions, afraid to return to their homes. Some 1,300 people were injured.
A 7.2-magnitude quake killed at least 366 people and knocked down more than 2,000 buildings in Van on Sunday.
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| 13. |
25 Oct 2011 Tue 02:49 pm |
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Two-week-old baby rescued alive from rubble 2 days after quake
The rescue workers reached the baby, named Azra according to the reports, after hours of frantic digging.
Rescuers say the girl´s mother and grandmother have also been found alive and well inside the collapsed building.
The father of the girl was missing, rescuers said.
Earlier search teams working round the clock rescued a pregnant woman and her two children and also dug out a police officer and his wife from their collapsed homes.
Maşallah!
Edited (10/25/2011) by Henry
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| 14. |
25 Oct 2011 Tue 03:38 pm |
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Two-week-old baby rescued alive from rubble 2 days after quake
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| Turkish search-and-rescue teams have rescued a two-week-old baby from the rubble in the Erciş district of the eastern province of Van almost two days after a strong quake hit the district. |
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Television footage on Tuesday showed rescuers in orange jumpsuits clapping as the baby, Azra Karaduman, was removed from the wreckage 47 hours after the 7.2-magnitude quake.
A rescue worker cradled the naked baby, who was then wrapped in a blanket and handed over to a medic.
Rescuers in Erciş and Van are still struggling to pull out people trapped inside mounds of concrete, twisted steel and construction debris. Authorities have warned survivors not to enter damaged buildings and thousands of people spent a second night outdoors in cars or tents in near-freezing conditions, afraid to return to their homes. Some 1,300 people were injured.
A 7.2-magnitude quake killed at least 366 people and knocked down more than 2,000 buildings in Van on Sunday.
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This is the best news I had today...!!! Evet, Henry , as you say " Maşallah ".
İnşallah bunun gibi mucizeler daha çok olur..
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| 15. |
25 Oct 2011 Tue 03:51 pm |
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İnşallah bunun gibi mucizeler daha çok olur..
Ben de!! (I also hope more miracles like this will happen)
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| 16. |
26 Oct 2011 Wed 08:05 pm |
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Pope Benedict XVI calls for prayers to Turkish quake victims
26 October 2011, Wednesday / TODAYSZAMAN.COM
Pope Benedict XVI acknowledges cheers upon his arrival in the Pope Paul VI hall at the Vatican to hold a pre-trip prayer service for the Catholic faithful on Oct. 26, 2011. (Photo: AP)
| Pope Benedict XVI has launched an appeal for support for relief efforts for eastern Turkey, which was hit by a powerful earthquake on Sunday that left at least 461 people dead and hundreds of others homeless. |
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“At this time our thoughts go to the people of Turkey hardest hit by the earthquake, which has caused heavy loss of life, many missing and extensive damage. I invite you to join me in prayer for those who have lost their lives and to be spiritually close to those many people so sorely tried. May the Almighty support all those engaged in rescue work,” he said during the Liturgy of the Word in the Vatican on Wednesday.
Sunday´s 7.2-magnitude quake in the eastern province of Van, Turkey´s strongest in a decade, has spurred the government to request foreign aid, including from Israel despite tensions between the two countries.
Aid is needed to house families, amid growing complaints of a lack of tents and other supplies. The governor of Van province said 3,000 buildings collapsed or were rendered structurally unsound after the quake hit the region. He added that the damage was the worst in outlying villages.
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Teşekkürler Papa..
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| 17. |
26 Oct 2011 Wed 08:09 pm |
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Cash, condolences flood Turkish Embassy’s mailbox in Tokyo
26 October 2011, Wednesday / TODAY´S ZAMAN WITH WIRES, ANKARA
| The envelop of one support letter placed in the mail box of the Turkish Embassy in Tokyo reads “for Turkey’s recovery” after Sunday’s quake. |
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| Japanese people have been sending letters of condolence and cash via the Turkish Embassy in Tokyo to Turkey, which was hit by a magnitude 7.2 earthquake that claimed hundreds of lives in the east of the country on Sunday. |
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As Turkey struggles to meet the pressing needs of the survivors in the eastern city of Van and surrounding towns after Sunday´s devastating quake caused thousands to flee to open spaces in fear of aftershocks, news of the display of kindness and solidarity from Japan hit news agencies on Wednesday, lifting spirits in the aftermath of the deadliest earthquake to strike Turkey in a decade.
The mailbox of Turkey´s embassy in Tokyo has been filling up with anonymous envelopes containing cash and letters, some of them in Turkish, to survivors wishing them a speedy recovery as well as letters extending condolences for those who lost their lives, the Anatolia news agency reported on Wednesday.
Among the envelopes, a letter from a 5-year-old child read “Gambatte, Turkey!” which roughly translates as “Do your best, Turkey!” has become the motto of the campaign Japanese people have been silently leading. Most letters did not include names, only people´s ages and sex, and not only displayed solidarity but also Japan´s gratitude for Turkey´s help back in March, when the country was shaken by one of the strongest earthquakes in its history.
“I understand that the earthquake in Van did great damage. As a Japanese person, I wanted to help with the rescue operations so that life can go back to normal soon,” another anonymous letter said, while dozens of other envelopes included cash and notes, one of which said, “This time we want to help you out, we remember the help you gave during our tragedy.”
Some of the notes brought to mind the deeply rooted friendship between Japan and Turkey as well as the times when Turkey has helped Japan, including Turkish efforts to evacuate Japanese in Iran when the Iran-Iraq war broke out, a memory that has long been buried in history but kept alive by some Japanese people who wanted to make it up to Turkey by lending a helping hand.
The total amount in cash from Japanese people has already exceeded $100,000, staff from the Turkish Embassy in Tokyo told Anatolia, noting that phone calls, e-mails and letters had been pouring in from all over Japan, where natural disasters, particularly earthquakes and tsunamis, are common. The embassy press office noted that Japan was mobilizing all efforts to launch campaigns to raise money for Turkey and that the embassy staff was very much moved by the acts of solidarity shown by Japan, which still has not fully recovered from the loss caused by the magnitude 9.0 quake that triggered a tsunami and destabilized a nuclear reactor back in March, Anatolia reported.
Japan is also readying to deliver $400,000 and urgently needed supplies to the earthquake zone, including means of shelter and tents.
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Teşekkürler good people of Japan..
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| 18. |
26 Oct 2011 Wed 09:04 pm |
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i heard turkish govt didnt want to receive help from outside at the beginning. why is that?
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| 19. |
27 Oct 2011 Thu 12:29 am |
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No discrimination on foreign quake aid: Gül
SEVİL KÜÇÜKKOŞUM
ANKARA - Hürriyet Daily News
President Abdullah Gül. AA Photo
Turkey is not discriminating between countries that have offered help in the wake of a devastating earthquake in Van, President Abdullah Gül said on Oct. 26, as Israel announced it would send prefabricated houses to the disaster-struck area after Ankara gave the green light for foreign aid.
“There are many countries offering assistance. The Turkish Foreign Ministry made an announcement for specific assistance at the moment the need emerged,” Gül told reporters.
Gül said that not only Israel, but other countries were also sending aid when asked about his phone conversation with Israeli President Shimon Peres and Israel’s assistance for Van.
“There is no discrimination against any country,” he said, adding that Azerbaijan and Iran had sent assistance immediately after the quake without giving prior notification to Ankara.
The president announced plans to visit the disaster areas in Van on Oct. 28.
“We are making evaluations as we don’t want to disrupt the relief work there,” he said, adding that the presidential reception for Republic’s Day on Oct. 29 was canceled due to both the earthquake and recent deadly terror attacks.
After initially turning down offers of foreign assistance, Turkey said on Oct. 25, three days after the quake, that it needed international aid for “the reconstruction of the quake-hit region,” Turkish diplomatic sources said.
There is need for tents, prefabricated houses and living containers in “the reconstruction phase following the search-and-rescue efforts” and therefore Ankara is still turning down other offers such as medicine and food, the source told the Hürriyet Daily News.
Japan became the first country to respond to the Turkish call as its embassy in Ankara announced that the Japanese International Cooperation Agency was sending around $400,000 and tents. Israel, Britain, France, Switzerland, Kazakhstan, Qatar and Jordan were among other countries that followed suit.
An Israeli plane was expected to land in Ankara late no Oct. 26 after the HDN went to press.
With deep crisis in bilateral ties and Turkish air space closed to Israeli military aircraft, Tel Aviv was sending the cargo on a commercial plane, officials said, adding that the aircraft was bringing seven prefabricated houses and tents. More shipments from Israel were expected to follow.
The undersecretary of the Israeli Defence Ministry, Udi Şani, voiced hope that the Israeli assistance would contribute to warming bilateral ties, which nosedived after Israeli forces killed nine Turks on a Gaza-bound aid ship in May 2010.
Last December, Turkey had sent fire-fighting planes to Israel to help battle massive forest fires.
The EU announced it would also extend support, saying that a financing plan would be outlined by Oct. 31 for supplies that would target mainly the quake victims’ urgent need for accommodation in windy, cold conditions.
Immediately after the quake, the EU also activated satellite systems aimed at helping Turkey by supplying data about seismic activities and weather conditions.
Meanwhile, Iranian Ambassador to Turkey Bahman Hosseinpour and embassy staff said on Oct. 26 they would donate blood.
Although many other countries, including Armenia, had offered assistance in the wake of the earthquake, many have not yet confirmed whether they will be able to provide the materials Ankara is requesting. Turkey has notified about 40 countries and international organizations of its immediate needs.
Prime Minister Tayyip Erdoğan said on Oct. 26 that death toll from the quake in Van stood at 461, with 1,352 people injured.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
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| 20. |
27 Oct 2011 Thu 01:12 am |
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VAN´DAKİ DEPREMZELER İÇİN SMS YOLUYLA BAĞIŞ
[Türk Kızılay´ının resmi web sitesinden]
http://secure.kizilay.org.tr/sayfaDetay.aspx?sid=27ad92e8-085f-44c8-bf42-149a5039c04b
SMS Bağışı [Donation to victims of Van Earthquake through SMS ]
Tüm operatörlerden 2868´ e boş bir mesaj (SMS) göndererek insanlığa 5 TL lik destekte bulunabilirsiniz
[ If you want to help people in Van ,You can send an empy text message to 2868 through all mobile providers [Turkcell,Vodaphone, Avea...] [ You will be charged 5 TL as donation ]
[ This money will go to Turkish Red Cross and it will be delivered to victims of Earthquake]
Note : People in Van is now suffering from bad weather, cold and snow soon... I belive 5 tl that we all are sending will be great help for them. There is still lacking tents,stoves ,baby food, blankets etc...
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| 21. |
30 Oct 2011 Sun 10:14 pm |
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Minister: Turkey rejected foreign rescue teams to test its own capacity
30 October 2011, Sunday / TODAYSZAMAN.COM
| The Turkish government had not readily accepted search-and-rescue teams from foreign countries in the wake of a magnitude 7.2 quake in the eastern province of Van because it wanted to test its own capacity to respond to such a disaster, a government minister has said. |
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Turkey initially declined offers of aid from other countries, saying it could handle the disaster alone, but Ankara accepted many offers of help two days after the quake when it became apparent that quake victims were in need of immediate shelter as winter closes in. Countries, including Israel and neighboring Armenia, then sent tents and prefabricated houses to help victims. The United States also said on Friday it would supply tents, containers and prefabricated housing.
“We thank the international community. Countries such as Iran and Azerbaijan especially have displayed enormous sensitivity,” Deputy Prime Minister Beşir Atalay said at a press conference on Saturday in Van, referring to the only two countries that dispatched search-and-rescue teams.
Atalay said the government has a list of countries that immediately made offers of help. “Of course, offers of search-and-rescue teams were kept on hold so that we could see our own potential,” Atalay said. Iran and Azerbaijan, on the other hand, acted on their own and sent their rescue teams. “Since we had sufficient search-and-rescue teams, we did not ask for foreign teams. But other countries are welcome to send tents, prefabricated houses and blankets,” he said.
On Thursday, the Azerbaijani team said it pulled 10 people out alive from beneath the rubble.
The government said on Sunday that the official death toll from the Oct. 23 Van quake went up to 596, while 4,152 people were injured.
Atalay said search-and-rescue operations taking place at four sites in Van´s Erciş district, the area worst-hit by the quake, would be halted by Saturday evening.
As search-and-rescue efforts came to an end, shelter remains the main problem for survivors of the quake.
Overseeing the relief efforts, Atalay said 35,000 tents had been handed out so far -- about 3,500 of which were sent by other countries -- and there was no shortage. But people have complained that distribution was chaotic, tents were looted, and some were sold by profiteers on the black market.
"From now on we are determining the need for tents according to our nightly visits and not according to the people´s demands," Atalay said.
Relief agencies have established tent cities on the edge of Erciş, a town of 100,000 people.
Atalay earlier said the emergency needs for all the affected -- at least in the main urban areas -- would be met by Saturday night, though supplying outlying villages would take longer. The government has said tents will only be given to families once their home has been deemed uninhabitable, but people are too scared to go back to their cracked walls with multiple aftershocks rattling the region.
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Note : What an unfortunate and disappointing speech, Test ? Human life is not something to test on.
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| 22. |
30 Oct 2011 Sun 11:05 pm |
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i heard turkish govt didnt want to receive help from outside at the beginning. why is that?
To prove we could handle the disaster alone..and we proved nothing but stupidity has no limits.
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