Turkish-Syrian earthquakes have nuclear bomb-level of power

Turkish and Syrian figures indicate that the calamity has claimed close to 24,500 lives.

According to the general manager of risk reduction at the Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD), the power of this week’s earthquakes in Turkey and Syria was comparable to 500 nuclear bombs.

Tatar informed journalists on Saturday that the first quake on Monday lasted 65 seconds and the second lasted 45 seconds.

According to Orhan Tatar, the two earthquakes released as much energy as 500 nuclear bombs.

Over 2,000 aftershocks occurred all during the following week as a result of the tremors, according to Tatar.

Recep Tayyip, the president of Turkey, announced on Saturday that 21,043 people had died and more than 80,000 had been injured as a result of the earthquakes.

The total number of fatalities in the two nations has now reached 24,596, with 3,553 casualties confirmed in neighbouring Syria.

Erdogan claimed during a visit to the devastated city of Diyarbakir that the earthquake, which has been dubbed the “disaster of the century,” wreaked damages over a 500-kilometer area but was felt over a nearly 1,000-kilometer area.

As a result of Western sanctions, more Syrians will perish following the earthquakes.

The Turkish president promised that those who lost their homes “won’t be abandoned in the streets and in poverty” and that countless apartment buildings would be rebuilt and strengthened to withstand earthquakes in the future.

Additionally, he declared that all colleges in Turkey would adopt remote instruction, with their residence halls serving as temporary shelter for people rendered homeless by the catastrophe.

The president claims that across the nation’s 10 south-eastern regions, there have been about 160,000 rescuers working, both Turkish and from other nations, including Russia.

The Yeni Safak newspaper said that eight persons were arrested in Turkey’s Sanliurfa Province on Saturday as a result of alleged construction flaws that caused structures to collapse during the earthquakes.

The Renaissance Residence apartment complex in Hatay Province, which was completely destroyed by the tremors, had its contractor arrested, according to local media on Friday. The guy was apparently carrying a sizable amount of cash when he was stopped at an airport in Istanbul.

The two earthquakes’ magnitudes have been estimated to be 7.7 and 7.6, respectively. Prior to the tragedy, the Fitch credit rating agency predicted that Turkey had suffered losses of almost $4 billion.