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Hundreds of people are being feared dead and dozens of buildings have collapsed during the Turkey earthquake on Sunday, October 23, 2011.
One of the collapsed buildings during the
Turkey earthquake (Click Image To Enlarge)
Image Credit: Abdurrahman Antakyali/Getty Images
As noted at Bloomberg that day, Kandilli Observatory and Earthquake Research Institute officials said that the earthquake that hit Van Province could have resulted to between 500 and 1,000 casualties.
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) reported earlier that a 7.3-magnitude earthquake hit eastern Turkeyat 1:41:21 p.m. (local time) on Sunday and had a depth of 7.2 km (4.5 miles).
Moments later, the USGS lowered it later to 7.2-magnitude, with its epicenter located at 19 km (12 miles) from Van, or 116 km (72 miles) North fromHakkari.
According to the latest update of state-run news reports, the earthquake took at least 45 lives and injured around 150 people. Some 25 apartment buildings and a student dormitory collapsed in the town of Ercis.
In addition, Turkey Deputy Prime Minister Besir Atalay told reports that at least 10 buildings had collapsed inVan City, and 20-30 buildings have severe damage.
“The area where the earthquake occurred is very shallow,” Kandilli Observatory Head Mustafa Erdik was quoted in a local TV interview.
“Normally quakes happen 30 to 40 kilometers deep, this is less than 10 kilometers, therefore there will be more damage.” Erdik added, as the earthquake was followed by more than 40 aftershocks.
Meanwhile, more than 1,000 local rescuers were deployed in the said area and Turkish Red Crescent brought hundreds of tents, blankets, among others.
