Vera, a Russian woman living in Mersin, Turkey, told socialbites.ca that she woke up from the shaking of the beds in the apartment during the earthquake that occurred on the night of February 6th. According to the woman’s statement, during the aftershocks, her family hid in the doorways and then prepared to evacuate to the desert, taking the documents.
“I felt so much. No one needed to wake up. Everyone woke up – me, my husband, my two children – from what was shaking the bed, and then from the whole apartment. We live on the 8th floor so maybe it felt stronger. We sat on the thresholds when the house shook. It felt like three minutes. Then the pushes ended. We quickly got the documents, the money. Aftershocks were repeated, but not very strong and of shorter duration. We put on the best clothes and went down the stairs to the lobby. There were already people there. We have a small wasteland next to the house, we wanted to run there in case it happens again. He sat for 40 minutes and went home. There was light traffic again about 10 minutes ago. We packed our bags,” he said.
Another Mersin resident, Rüstem, added that “the chandeliers swayed and the iron fell from the ironing board” in his apartment, adding that the tremors were “impossible not to wake up”.
Russian woman Valeria noted that public transport is now working in the city and locals go to work, but classes in schools have been cancelled.
“It was around 4:30 in the morning, I was still in the apartment at the first push. My family and I quickly took the papers, the dogs, a parrot and went out into the street. Let’s go to a place where there are no tall buildings. It sucked. Local people also went out with their small children, swarming them. It was still raining outside. Now the minibuses are working, people seem to go to work. I saw an announcement about schools, my friends say they are closing for a day,” he emphasized.
7.4 magnitude earthquake dead On the night of February 6 in Turkey. The epicenter of the earthquake was in Pazarcık district of Kahramanmaraş. At least 76 people were killed and 440 injured. The earthquake also affected Syria’s Aleppo, Latakia, Hama and Tartus provinces. More than 100 people were victims.
How reported According to the Russian Association of Tour Operators (ATOR), the earthquake occurred in southeast Turkey, far from tourist areas. The association has no data on victims among Russian tourists.