Turkey Hit by Magnitude 5.6 Quake in Latest Aftershock

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Facts

  • An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.6 on the Richter scale rocked Turkey's Malatya province on Monday, leading to more building collapses and the death of at least one person. Dozens were also reported injured.1
  • The earthquake is the latest aftershock following the Feb. 6 earthquake that ravaged southern Turkey and northern Syria, killing over 50K people. The quake was reportedly centered around the town of Yesilyurt and led to the collapse of more than two dozen buildings.2
  • After visiting regions of Turkey affected by last month's deadly earthquake, the head of the UN World Food Programme said on Saturday that the scene was 'apocalyptic,' calling the devastation throughout the region 'incomprehensible.' The comments came two days before Monday's aftershock.3
  • The Turkish government is also continuing its crackdown on individuals accused of breaking building codes, which may have increased the number of buildings susceptible to collapse. Officials have arrested nearly 200 people so far and have identified over 600 suspects.4
  • The UN has estimated that 1.5M people have been made homeless in southern Turkey and more than 500K homes need to be rebuilt. According to the country’s disaster management agency, nearly 10K aftershocks have been reported since Feb. 6.1
  • The areas of Syria most affected by the earthquakes are regions still mired by the country's ongoing civil war in which there are massive numbers of internally displaced Syrians living in refugee camps along the Turkish border. As a result, aid delivery to certain regions has been unreliable and slow.5

Sources: 1Al Jazeera, 2Associated Press, 3Un news, 4CNN and 5Itn.

Narratives

  • Narrative A, as provided by Daily sabah. The Turkish government is doing everything it can to help those affected by these devastating earthquakes and hold corrupt developers, officials, and contractors accountable. For too long, contractors and building companies have cut corners, leading to thousands of deaths in this horrific tragedy. The government's investigation will be as thorough as possible — the public deserves answers to why so much devastation has occurred.
  • Narrative B, as provided by Politico. Many impacts of this earthquake could have been lessened if only Erdoğan's government had dealt seriously with supervising urban development in quake-prone areas, enforcing the mandatory earthquake-resistant design codes to buildings its legislation approved in 2000. There are two major fault lines along the Anatolian Plate, and earthquake mitigation is vital given the likelihood of catastrophic tremors. Erdoğan's prospects for re-election seem to be dwindling as anger grows.

Predictions