Shocked by the plate

Our planet shakes in a tectonic sense as well. But keeping seismic calm Belarus always comes to the aid of those who need it.

A series of powerful earthquakes that took place in Türkiye and Syria on February 6th and had echoes in the following days, claimed the lives of more than 40,000 people. Over 90,000 more were injured. Unfortunately, the number of victims is constantly increasing. The rubble has not been completely cleared. Earthquake shocks led to the fact that the Arabian Plate, together with Türkiye, moved about 3 metres in the northeast and southwest directions in relation to the Anatolian Plate. Local authorities talk about a humanitarian catastrophe, scientists about the region’s seismic activity, and Belarus about humanity. The President of Belarus instructed to send to Türkiye an emergency rescue team of the Emergencies Ministry, certified according to UN international standards. Previously, the Head of State also instructed to work out the shipment of humanitarian aid to Syria. There is a civilisational approach of Minsk and a certain historical continuity: Belarus has always provided assistance to victims of major cataclysms.

Photo by Aleksandr Kulevsky

Iranian fracture

The largest in area among the uplands of Western Asia is the Iranian one, which still retains high seismic activity. Most of it is within Iran, in the east it enters Afghanistan and Pakistan, the northern part runs in the south of Turkmenistan, the southern part is along the border with Iraq. Geologically, the Iranian Plateau is one of the parts of the Eurasian Plate, which has found itself stuck between the Hindustan Plate and the Arabian Platform. Tectonic activity continues here.
Not surprisingly, Iran is one of the most seismically active countries in the world. Several large faults intersect here, which cover at least 90 percent of the country’s territory, so earthquakes are frequent and destructive.
Since 1900, at least 126,000 people have died as a result of such cataclysms. At the same time, according to researchers, in 1721 alone, up to 250,000 people could die in earthquakes on the territory of modern Iran, in 893 — up to 150,000, and in 856 — up to 200,000.

Photo by REUTERS

Double strike on Syria

The northwest is one of the most affected areas in Syria. It was here that about three million people fled from the war, many live in tents, ancient ruins and makeshift shelters. A fuel crisis has left many without heat this winter, Syria’s shattered infrastructure has led to thousands of people contracting cholera in recent months, and there is no one and nothing to provide medical care in the destroyed hospitals. Only about 45 percent of pre-war medical facilities are now functioning in Syria, according to the International Rescue Committee. According to the latest data, 8,500 people became victims of the disaster in Syria.

AAA conflict

The seismological danger of the territory of modern Türkiye has been specified since ancient times. It is on it that four large tectonic plates converge: the Eurasian in the north, the Anatolian in the centre, the African and Arab in the south. Because of this, the country is entangled in a semicircle of seismic faults that go from Syria to the north and turn west not far from the Black Sea coast. There they stretch to Istanbul, from where they leave for the Aegean Sea.

PHOTO BY REUTERS

The current earthquake occurred in an area inhabited since antiquity, where three tectonic plates converge — Anatolian, African and Arab. Moreover, this AAA conflict here is by no means the first historically. The US Geological Survey estimates that there were 124 earthquakes in the 20th century, averaging over 1,000 deaths each, 17 of which occurred in present-day Türkiye.

Belarusian rescuers work in the disaster zone in Türkiye

On behalf of the President, the Belarusian Emergencies Ministry sent a special response team Zubr to Türkiye, which suffered from the earthquake. In addition, a cargo of humanitarian aid was sent to Syria.
The first flight with our rescuers and special equipment took off from Machulishchi airfield on February 8th in the early morning. The Ilyushin Il-76 aircraft landed at the airport of Gaziantep, over 30 specialists on board went to Türkiye,
including doctors, cynologists, and a chemical and radiation safety reconnaissance group. The detachment works in the city of Kahramanmaras, which is 59 kilometres from the place where the epicentre of the earthquake was located.

Every minute counts...

“The detachment is fully prepared to work on saving people, removing rubble and complex concrete structures. To do this, we have unique equipment, tools and, of course, specialists. When responding to emergency situations, the detachment is able to perform tasks offline for ten days at two sites simultaneously,” Head of Zubr Igor Zarembo.



Employees of the Emergencies Ministry brought with them all the necessary rescue tools that may be needed to search for and release the victims.
In addition, they have their own equipment — two MAZ trucks and two off-road cars.
Members of Zubr team place great hopes on service rescue dogs. Five of them arrived in the Turkish province — Labradors, German and Belgian Shepherds. These breeds are the hardiest and non-aggressive, which is an important component in the search and rescue mission.
On February 9th, the second group of Belarusian rescuers set off for Türkiye.
Humanitarian aid was also sent to earthquake-affected areas of Syria.


Photo: www.metro.co.uk 


The largest earthquakes of the century
• On January 12th, 2010, Haiti was hit by a magnitude 7.0 earthquake. 316,000 people died, more than 300,000 were injured, 1.3 million were left homeless. The capital of Port-au-Prince was almost completely destroyed.
• On May 12th, 2008, an earthquake of magnitude 7.9 occurred in the Chinese province of Sichuan, which was also felt in India, Thailand, Russia and other countries. 87,600 people became victims, more than 370,000 were injured.
• On December 26th, 2004, an earthquake hit the Indian Ocean. The shift of tectonic plates over 1200 kilometres caused a tsunami up to 10 metres high. According to various estimates, from 225,000 to 300,000 people in 14 countries died.
• On July 27th, 1976, — an earthquake occurred in the Chinese city of Tangshan, Hebei Province. According to official data, almost 243,000 people died. Tangshan turned into ruins, and destruction was also recorded in Tianjin and Beijing.

By Maksim Osipov