Reach the most affected areas sichuan earthquake (China 2008, magnitude 7.9 and close to 90,000 dead and missing) It was a real ordeal, a slow and tedious process for a layman, nearly impossible for the heavy machinery required to remove the tons of rubble that had buried people. place that used to have houses or schools. When places near the epicenter of that earthquake in the heart of China were finally reached, one of the first voices heard was: metallic strokes of iron bars, dry where locals wait for the diggers to try to break the stones that buried their relatives. If someone felt something under the rubble (a person asking for help), all residents and rescuers would gather at that spot of the mess and begin rescue efforts. In the first days, miracles begin to happen: adults, children, and the elderly rescued 24, 48, or 72 hours after the disaster, come back to life with gray dust on their faces and breathless. Therefore, early mobilization of emergency teams and international assistance is crucial.
The earthquake that devastated the Kahramanmaraş region (southern Turkey and northern Syria) this morning was slightly smaller than China’s, 7.4 on the Richter scale. However the pictures look very similar. Three- or four-story buildings collapsed, along with other buildings that were not clear why they were able to withstand the earthquake. And dozens of people who don’t know what to do are under the rubble.
In the early hours of May 12, 2008, Chinese and international media only spoke of a few hundred deaths. However, the tremor began to be felt in Beijing, about 2,000 kilometers away, a harbinger of a much larger disaster. By the end of the day, the official figure was around 9 thousand. The final balance of the Chinese government about 70,000 dead and 19,000 missing, in addition to about 400,000 injured. Among them are more than 5,000 children. The tremors had occurred during school hours, and schools of “tofu” (made from bad ingredients, soft like that type of Chinese cheese) collapsed one after another.
The Sichuan earthquake was the third deadliest earthquake of this century, after the 2004 Indonesia earthquake (which triggered a powerful tsunami) and the 2010 Haiti earthquake (see the table at the end of this article). The region of Turkey hit by the earthquake on Monday Much less populated than the 2008 China earthquake. Kahramanmaraş, the largest Turkish city near the earthquake’s epicenter, had a population of about one million, while the largest of those affected by Sichuan had five million residents. In these natural disasters, population density and the dominant housing type are the key. This indicates that the death toll in the Turkey earthquake will be much lower, but it will be known for sure only in a few days. The next few hours will be the key to measuring the scale of the disaster.
The things to do after a major earthquake are almost endless. Rescue, water and food supply, shelter for the displaced or burial of the deceased. In the areas most affected by an earthquake with these characteristics, After a few days the smell can become unbearable.. Dead bodies piled up in ditches as rescue efforts continued in Sichuan. Emergency crews often take time to arrive, especially in mountainous areas or on poorly condition roads that are often damaged and make access difficult.
Also, an earthquake rarely ends with the first tremor. The constant aftershocks that follow earthquakes of this magnitude keep the public in a state of constant tension, increasing the emotional shock they experience.
The deadliest earthquakes of this century
2004 – Sumatra (Indonesia) – magnitude 9.1 – Approximately 230,000 deaths
2010 – Port-au-Prince (Haiti) – size 7 – 160,000
2008 – Sichuan (China) – size 7.9 – 90,000
2005 – Kashmir (Pakistan, India and Afghanistan) – size 7.6 – 86,000
2003 – Bam (Iran) – size 6.5 – 30.000
2001 – Guyat (India) – size 8.1 – 24,000