The Russians described the earthquake in Turkey: a relative remains under the rubble

Olga lives in Alanya, her relatives are not far from Antakya, where houses and state institutions were destroyed: “My relatives live in Hatay – this is a million-plus city 25 km from Antakya. In their small quarter, two houses survived, two collapsed: one half, the second had the lower three floors, four more remained on top.

Under the rubble now remains the husband’s sister, in the morning she responded. She lived on the third floor, which collapsed. Ambulances and the Ministry of Emergency Situations cannot get to them, the roads are littered. My nephews ran there, tried to dig it out, but at that moment the entrance collapsed. Now they are waiting for the tech.

Relatives say that the city hospital and police station were destroyed in Khatai. The gas substation also exploded. The houses were left without heating, and now it is only 8 degrees outside.

So far no more news. We do not call them so that their phone does not sit down. It is not known when electricity will be provided.

Marina (Kyrgydzhak village): “At night, around 4.20 o’clock, the bed was shaking, the chandelier was shaking. At the neighbors something heavy fell on the floor. Then everything went quiet. But people are worried.”

Anatoly (city of Mersin): Our city is located approximately 200-250 km from the epicenter of the earthquake. There didn’t seem to be any damage, but it was pretty shocking. I experienced a very unpleasant sensation during the aftershocks. It seemed that the whole house was moving from side to side, cabinets cracked, chandeliers swayed, windows creaked. It feels like a sea roll, only the amplitude is not up and down.

When it all started, I quickly got dressed, took the documents and went downstairs. There were already quite a few people in the yard. Within 10 minutes the vast majority descended. After some time, the bulk moved away from the buildings. Many Turks and those who had cars got in and out of their houses and away from the sea, because there was a risk of a tsunami, as these people explained to me.

After the main shock, weaker aftershocks were felt for a couple of hours (a shock that occurs after the main shock – “MK”). Everything calmed down in the morning.

We are given the following forecasts: aftershocks, gradually fading, may continue for days, weeks and months. But they will already be much weaker than the main shock.

In general, earthquake-resistant houses are being built in Turkey, since the whole country is located in the active zone. How it really is, I don’t know. Houses stack up because everything has a certain tensile strength. A magnitude of 7.8 (according to various sources, 7.4-7.9) is really a lot.”

Elena (Antalya): “We are all calm. The epicenter was in cities that are located closer to the Syrian border. There are probably few emigrants from Russia there. But those places are considered popular tourist routes.”

Vitaly (Mersin): “Our city was rocking a lot. We live on the 10th floor, we felt it for ourselves. All residents went outside. They stood for half an hour, but returned home to sleep. Now there is information that houses in Turkey that have withstood powerful tremors have begun to collapse. The fact is that the structures were damaged, and they began to collapse a few hours after the earthquake. We are now outside again. Authorities have advised people not to return to their apartments for the time being. Our complex manager also wrote that we need to leave the apartment. It started shaking again. Gardens and schools are closed today. Here we walk near the sea.

Maria (Alania): “Somewhere at 4 in the morning we woke up from the fact that the bed was“ dancing ”and the cabinets were opening. We stood in the doorways. They knew that if the house starts to collapse, you will not have time to run out, everything happens in a matter of seconds. The main push lasted a minute. Then less strong shocks began, each for 10 seconds.

When the second shock happened, we ran out into the street, where the neighbors were already standing. Most people went to the central square and waited in the open area for about an hour. Then, slowly, everyone dispersed. There were no more shocks.

Now everyone is doing their usual things. On the news they only talk about those cities where there is destruction. Nothing is heard about repeated earthquakes.

Previously, shocks did not reach Alanya, our city was considered safe. But in the last two years, tremors have begun to be felt. Now it’s getting stronger and stronger. Clearly something is going on with nature.

Galina (Antalya): “My relative lives 200 km from the epicenter of the earthquake. She had furniture in her apartment. It was impossible to stand on my feet, it shook so much. People ran out into the park and stood in the rain. Everyone was afraid to go home. In their city, at first count, 16 buildings collapsed. There is no electricity.

Another girl from Diyarbakir wrote on the net that their apartment was shaking so that the closet in her son’s room fell, 2 chandeliers were torn off, all windows and doors were opened. Their bed with her husband was dragged all over the room. They couldn’t get up. Now in their city, the sirens of ambulances and firefighters do not stop.”

In a chat where Russians share their experiences, Maria, who was at the epicenter of the earthquake in the city of Gaziantep, left messages: “After the first push, everyone ran out into the street. The first push lasted a long time, a minute or a little more. Then he also shook for a long time, but already weaker: 6.3 – 5.5 points. We’ve counted over 13 shocks since the first one. Most people are now sitting in cars, having driven to open space away from buildings.

Social networks are filled with messages asking for help from people who are under the rubble. People write the addresses of the buildings under which they are located, asking for help as soon as possible.

Strong destruction was in Kahramanmarash, Khatai, in Adana. Buildings of 14 floors and above collapsed. The old buildings also failed. The house in which we stayed survived, but destruction began: cracks were visible, some walls swelled up like a bubble, went to a break, facing marble and plaster fell off.

I think there are so many victims because the earthquake happened at night. People are sleeping and do not feel the danger.”

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