On this Friday afternoon, Turkey and Greece dealt another catastrophe amidst this pandemic as an Earthquake of 7.0 magnitude hit upon the Aegean Sea. Within a fraction of seconds, this region of the world has undergone huge destruction. This sudden tremor has aroused a great panic among the citizens of these nations.
What Happened Actually?
On Friday afternoon, that is on 30th Oct 2020, a powerful Earthquake struck upon the Aegean coast in Turkey and north of the Greek Island of Samos. The quake has been found to struck 14 kilometres northeast of the town Neon Karlovasi on Samos, as it has been reported by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) at 1:51 pm Greek time. The USGS measured the magnitude of the tremor at 7.0. The quake lasted for about twenty-five seconds.
The epicentre of the quake was relatively at a shallow depth of about 21 kilometres (13miles). This made the consequences of the quake more destructive and devastating than it would have been in other cases. The quake even triggered a mini-tsunami. Several buildings and properties have collapsed into debris as the strong tidal waves slammed into the coastal areas and islands.
Consequences of this tremor
The rescue teams have reported that 27 individuals have lost their lives due to this sudden catastrophe. There are still many more to discover yet. In the coastal areas of Turkey’s west, 25 individuals have lost their lives according to the officials. Carcasses of two teenagers have been cited on the Greek island of Samos. These two individuals died as the wall of a building collapsed on them. More than 800 people have got severely injured as the tremor hit upon this region.
The city of Izmir in turkey has a population of 4.5 million and has many multi-storeyed buildings. According to the sources, 20 of such buildings have collapsed into debris. Several footages have been received of how various vehicles have got crushed under those buildings. Rescue teams are still digging through the remains in search of survivors.
Several TV footage have also shown how the debris was dragged by the tsunami and got collected at one end of the streets. People are also in severe shock and distress after looking over the destruction they have dealt with within a fraction of seconds.
The Government of these two nations has been seen to undertake several measures and are at their best to overcome this situation as fast as possible. Both the nations are showing huge co-operation among each other to heal their wounds. Meanwhile, France has stood up beside Turkey and Greece to help them overcome their losses.
The current condition of these two nations reveals that it will take time to get better. Help coming from other nations would be a great support for these small nations in their difficult time.
Written by Saurabh Dey.
