Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has declared a three-month state of emergency in the ten provinces hardest hit by an earthquake that has killed thousands. He said in a televised address that the state of emergency is intended to expedite rescue efforts in the southeast of the country. LIVE Updates
He stated that the steps would permit relief personnel and financial aid to enter the impacted districts, but did not provide any other information, a report by BBC said, adding that the state of emergency will terminate soon before the 14 May elections, in which Erdogan will strive to remain in power for a twentieth year.
The last time Turkey declared a state of emergency was in 2016, following a failed coup attempt. Two years later, it was lifted.
According to a Reuters factbox this is what the state of emergency actually means:
- In the event of a declared state of emergency due to a natural disaster, the government can require that public and private institutions and individuals surrender land, buildings, vehicles, food, medicine, and more.
- It also has a greater voice in the utilisation of a vast array of resources, from fuel and medicine to building materials. It can seize facilities that make, sell, or store such substances and shut down companies that engage in practises such as price gouging, supply hoarding, or stifling the production of items required for nutrition, warmth, hygiene, and lighting.
- Regional governors may also request assistance from military units in the event of extreme or unexpected events.
- The government can determine when firms can open, close, or utilise their facilities. It can demolish buildings that represent a threat, direct air, land, and sea traffic, and block admission or settlement in certain regions.
- The state has the authority to allocate employment to individuals between the ages of 18 and 60 and to cancel days off, including weekends.
- In addition, the defence ministry reported that over 9,000 personnel, 38 helicopters, eight ships, and 50 cargo planes were assisting with rescue efforts and transporting injured individuals to hospitals.
- The military also helps deliver portable kitchens, bathrooms, and generators to individuals in need, according to the ministry.
Race Against Time
Rescuers raced against time early Wednesday to pull survivors from the rubble before they succumbed to cold weather two days after an earthquake tore through southern Turkey and war-ravaged northern Syria. The death toll climbed above 7,700 and was expected to rise further, a report by the Associated Press said
The last two days have brought dramatic rescues, including small children emerging from mounds of debris more than 30 hours after Monday’s pre-dawn quake. But there was also widespread despair and growing anger at the slow pace of rescue efforts in some areas.
“It’s like we woke up to hell,” Osman Can Taninmis, whose family members were still beneath the rubble in Hatay, Turkey’s hardest-hit province told the Associated Press. “Help isn’t coming, can’t come. We can’t reach anyone at all. Everywhere is destroyed.”
In Syria, residents found a crying newborn still connected by the umbilical cord to her mother, who was dead. The baby was the only member of her family to survive a building collapse in the small town of Jinderis, relatives told The Associated Press.
Search teams from nearly 30 countries and aid pledges poured in. But with the damage spread across several cities and towns — some isolated by Syria’s ongoing conflict — voices crying for help from within mounds of rubble fell silent.
Monday’s magnitude 7.8 quake and powerful aftershocks cut a swath of destruction that stretched hundreds of kilometers (miles) across southeastern Turkey and neighboring Syria. The shaking toppled thousands of buildings and heaped more misery on a region wracked by Syria’s 12-year civil war and refugee crisis.
With inputs from Reuters and the Associated Press
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