Living among the ruins of the Türkiye earthquake a year later international

When it rains in Antakya – the capital of Turkey's southernmost province of Hatay – the streets fill with mud. Huge puddles form on the roads, preventing you from seeing deep holes in the asphalt, which was damaged by the February 2023 earthquake. Over the past 12 months, the movement of trucks and excavators has caused further damage. Demolition and debris removal projects have been working in the city.

When it doesn't rain, things are worse. Particles of what were once homes, businesses and monuments float in the air, covering everything in a layer of dust. The plants and trees that decorate the city take on a gray color. There are days when, from the mountains surrounding the city, an artificial cloud can be seen floating above everything.

Hatay province was the most affected by the earthquake. A year ago, the disaster left more than 60,000 dead and more than three million homeless in southern Turkey and northern Syria.

“Now, with the rains, we are in a better position. Otherwise the air carries a lot of dust,” Paris explains. He is a teenager who lives in a container house in a camp set up by the Turkish government in Samandag, a town south of Antakya, at the mouth of the Orontes River. There – where the river's waters open into the Mediterranean Sea – there is an enormous rubbish dump, where the remains of buildings that collapsed during the earthquake or were demolished afterwards were deposited. There are mounds more than 30 feet high, made of cement rubble, metal bars and pieces of wood. And even some pieces of clothing. At its top – which is covered with passing machinery – the remains of ancient houses are nothing but barely sand. The gusts of wind carry them easily. At the bottom, two excavators and a number of workers are, once again, removing the rubble. The authorities have granted them a concession to find the metal Then sell it as scrap.

Safety regulations state that before demolishing a building, materials that may contain toxic substances must be removed: asbestos in old roofs and insulation, lead in pipes, mercury in fluorescent lamps and electronic devices, etc. But the area affected by the earthquake is so vast (larger than the entire area of ​​Portugal), the devastation so enormous (680,000 homes and 170,000 commercial, industrial and agricultural buildings damaged or destroyed) and the need to build new homes so urgent that the authorities have launched an investigation. Prioritize speed over security.

According to the United Nations Development Programme, the quake generated 3.5 billion cubic feet of debris, 10 times more than the 2010 Haiti earthquake. Hardly any hoses or irrigation systems are used to manage it — which would reduce the rise. of particles in the air – and operators do not wear mandatory masks. All of this poses a “public health risk,” according to a report by the NGO “Support Life.”

Prospectors dig through the rubble of buildings destroyed by the earthquake in Samandag, in Hatay province, searching for metals to sell as scrap. Andres Morenza

The Turkish government assures the public that 91% of demolition and rubble removal projects have already been completed, but “revealing… [to hazardous materials] “It's not over,” complains Sevdar Yilmaz, head of Hatay Medical College. “Waste is being dumped near water sources, crops and populated areas. As soon as a light wind blows, the dust will rise again.”

During the fall semester, the Turkish Medical Association (TTB) in cooperation with the Right to Clean Air Platform (consisting of 16 professional organizations and NGOs) conducted tests at various points in the provinces affected by the earthquake. In more than a third of the samples collected in Antakya and Kahramanmaraş – and in a tenth of the samples collected in Al-Bustan and Adıyaman – asbestos was found, a substance whose inhalation can cause various lung cancers. “In the medium term, we will see an increase in respiratory diseases and cancers. The life expectancy of people in the region will decrease,” Yilmaz warned.

Türkiye Garden

The earthquake and debris not only affected people's health. The affected provinces are responsible for 20% of Turkey's food production, especially the plains of Hatay province, whose alluvial soil – unstable and dangerous for construction work – is incredibly fertile for agriculture. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) says that “more than a third of the population of these governorates live on agriculture.” “Initial estimates indicate that agriculture has suffered severe impacts estimated at $1.3 billion [to agricultural infrastructure] And losses of $5.1 billion [due to the loss of crops and the resulting increase in food prices]”.

“Last year, production decreased because the earthquake damaged wells and aquifers,” Mohammed lamented. He is a salsa (tomato paste) seller in an Antakya market. “The production of olive trees has also decreased due to dust,” says Orhan, who sells olives. Tobacco and apricot production, the main agricultural products in Adiyaman and Malatya provinces, respectively, were also affected by the earthquake.

Further south, in Samandag, citrus production was enormous. However, most tangerines rot on trees or on the ground in orchards. “I'm devastated,” Hussein sighs. He is a citrus farmer, and was offered so little money for his crop that it was not worth picking. The reason, explains Trifon Yumurta – a local priest – is that buyers who usually export to Russia, Romania and other countries did not show up this year. “Maybe they're afraid to come to the earthquake zone,” he shrugs.

The image of trees full of unpicked fruit in Samandag contrasts with the situation in refugee camps dozens of miles to the north. According to a study by TTB, most children do not receive adequate nutrition in container cities: they consume much less fruit, meat and fish than recommended. The result is that more than 10% of children under the age of two show signs of malnutrition, with their weights and heights being well below average. This is because – despite the assistance of between $100 and $150 per month that each affected family receives from the state – more than half of the heads of households in the region lack a regular income and three-quarters do not have stable work. It is also difficult to obtain food in a city like Antakya, where many markets remain closed.

Skin problems – such as scabies – and stomach diseases are common in the camps, all caused by overcrowding and the difficulty of maintaining hygiene without a proper water supply. TTB claims to have found E. coli and other potentially harmful bacteria in tap water in Antioch. The central and municipal governments denied this, although they did not dare to clearly state whether the city's water could be consumed or not. “The earthquake and the work of excavators and heavy machinery have damaged canal and sewage systems. This can cause drinking water to mix with sewage,” Yilmaz explains.

The doctors left in the area cannot handle the matter. The healthcare system collapsed during the earthquake, and although three hospitals in Antakya have been rebuilt, the number of beds available is 1,300… half what they were before the earthquake. It has also not been possible to re-establish the primary care system: the 66 centers that were once available remain closed, while nearly half of the medical staff are missing. Many died, were injured, or emigrated.

The head of the Doctors Syndicate regrets: “Vaccination levels among children have dropped from 98% to less than half.” “What we had feared for a long time has begun to happen: in Kerkhan (another city in Hatay Province), we detected an outbreak of hepatitis A, with at least 40 cases.”

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAÍS USA Edition

What Are The Main Benefits Of Comparing Car Insurance Quotes Online

LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / June 24, 2020, / Compare-autoinsurance.Org has launched a new blog post that presents the main benefits of comparing multiple car insurance quotes. For more info and free online quotes, please visit https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/the-advantages-of-comparing-prices-with-car-insurance-quotes-online/ The modern society has numerous technological advantages. One important advantage is the speed at which information is sent and received. With the help of the internet, the shopping habits of many persons have drastically changed. The car insurance industry hasn't remained untouched by these changes. On the internet, drivers can compare insurance prices and find out which sellers have the best offers. View photos The advantages of comparing online car insurance quotes are the following: Online quotes can be obtained from anywhere and at any time. Unlike physical insurance agencies, websites don't have a specific schedule and they are available at any time. Drivers that have busy working schedules, can compare quotes from anywhere and at any time, even at midnight. Multiple choices. Almost all insurance providers, no matter if they are well-known brands or just local insurers, have an online presence. Online quotes will allow policyholders the chance to discover multiple insurance companies and check their prices. Drivers are no longer required to get quotes from just a few known insurance companies. Also, local and regional insurers can provide lower insurance rates for the same services. Accurate insurance estimates. Online quotes can only be accurate if the customers provide accurate and real info about their car models and driving history. Lying about past driving incidents can make the price estimates to be lower, but when dealing with an insurance company lying to them is useless. Usually, insurance companies will do research about a potential customer before granting him coverage. Online quotes can be sorted easily. Although drivers are recommended to not choose a policy just based on its price, drivers can easily sort quotes by insurance price. Using brokerage websites will allow drivers to get quotes from multiple insurers, thus making the comparison faster and easier. For additional info, money-saving tips, and free car insurance quotes, visit https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/ Compare-autoinsurance.Org is an online provider of life, home, health, and auto insurance quotes. This website is unique because it does not simply stick to one kind of insurance provider, but brings the clients the best deals from many different online insurance carriers. In this way, clients have access to offers from multiple carriers all in one place: this website. On this site, customers have access to quotes for insurance plans from various agencies, such as local or nationwide agencies, brand names insurance companies, etc. "Online quotes can easily help drivers obtain better car insurance deals. All they have to do is to complete an online form with accurate and real info, then compare prices", said Russell Rabichev, Marketing Director of Internet Marketing Company. CONTACT: Company Name: Internet Marketing CompanyPerson for contact Name: Gurgu CPhone Number: (818) 359-3898Email: [email protected]: https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/ SOURCE: Compare-autoinsurance.Org View source version on accesswire.Com:https://www.Accesswire.Com/595055/What-Are-The-Main-Benefits-Of-Comparing-Car-Insurance-Quotes-Online View photos