Today, I would like to write a few words about the earthquake that saddened and shook us deeply.
First of all, I would like to give some information about the earthquake. I will write these with shame because it is simple for me to write what is the earthquake, and how, but now it contains indescribable feelings for many of my brothers, I am sure. I really don’t know how to express what to write.
So what is this devastating natural disaster, and how…
Earthquake; A natural disaster called ground shaking, seismic, or different expressions spoken among the people. Fractures in the earth’s crust cause sudden energy waves that envelop the earth as they pass. These fractures, also known as faults, form when the rock breaks under high pressure due to brittleness. Volcanic activities, landslides, and mine explosions can also trigger earthquakes, primarily by cracking fault lines.
Unfortunately, Every year, the world experiences 500,000 earthquakes, with 100,000 being felt by people. As everyone knows, Japan, Chile, Guatemala, Peru, Indonesia, Iran, Pakistan, Portugal, New Zealand, Greece, Italy, USA, and Turkey. In these countries, frequent and small earthquakes occur.
So what is the difference between earthquake intensity and magnitude?
Earthquake intensity is the measure of the effect of an earthquake at any depth on the earth. These effects; can be against nature, people, buildings, and the environment. Since the structure of everything is different from each other, of course, the effects are different everywhere.
The concept of magnitude measures the energy released in an earthquake. In other words, although the intensity of feeling the earthquake and the magnitude of the earthquake are trying to express the same things, they have different meanings. The intensity of feeling the earthquake is independent of the magnitude. Because this varies according to the proximity to the epicenter and the ground they are located on. The Kahramanmaraş earthquake struck us just a week ago and it was the second biggest earthquake in the last hundred years, causing us to lose so much.
Two major earthquakes hit Kahramanmaraş on Monday, February 6. After the earthquakes centered in Pazarcık and Elbistan districts, more than 2500 aftershocks occurred.
The region shook for 2 minutes as the first earthquake lasted 65 seconds and the second lasted 45 seconds. It’s estimated that the combined energy released by these two earthquakes was equivalent to 500 atomic bombs.
As I write this, we are in the 161st hour and approximately 30,000 of our people have passed away. While I was writing these, maybe one more person was cut off from his family, life, and loved ones. About 100,000 of our people were injured. Maybe we even passed this number now, I’m sorry to say, but we don’t even know that right now. It is increasing every minute. The pain is truly indescribable, I don’t know what to write. How many thousands of people were separated from their loved ones in a moment? They did something together for the last time. There were those who went offended, there were those who went unhappy.
So, is it the earthquake that upsets us so much, or is it our unpreparedness for the earthquake?
Exactly 24 years have passed since the 1999 Gölcük earthquake, but we are still the same. We are not developed. 24 years has brought us nothing.
Breaking the faults alone would not have caused such a devastating earthquake, but their merging intensified the magnitude and destruction. Despite these warnings, we laughed them off before the earthquake. The contractor of the luxurious “One Square from Heaven” apartment building in Hatay tried to escape at the airport after the disaster struck. They built the building by combining foams squeezed into the columns and stolen from the wall of the adjacent building. Despite falsely claiming the building was earthquake resistant and selling it in large quantities, the earthquake revealed the building’s lack of resilience.
We saw it all in one day. So we don’t know what to believe. One thing we do know is that everything can end in an instant.
In other words, whether it is the earthquake that is hostile to us or our unpreparedness for an earthquake is a debatable issue.
Right now, the only thing that all of Turkey and even many people with good hearts in the world think about is many people who have faced an earthquake.
We are in the 160th hour and we are waiting for a small miracle. We cling to hope. Our hearts are with them. But still many of us are under the concrete piles, so sorry. I don’t know what to say. Turkey is already one heart right now. But at the same time, I would like to thank everyone who came to help from many parts of the world or anyone who did anything materially and spiritually. I think they need our prayers, everything material and spiritual. Endless thanks.
There is one thing that we have seen in many places, but it is very true: You are alive when you feel your own pain, but you are human when you feel the pain of others, it is so true. We’ve seen a lot of things these days, and we’re sad and ashamed of them. Those who loot, rare pieces, and ruthlessly call people and make fun of them. There’s one more thing that’s really painful, and that’s it. Besides, It makes me very happy to see people with beautiful hearts, those who try to do something with their tiny hearts.
Those of you who share your toys and belongings for earthquake victims and write something with their tiny hearts, I am so glad to have you. Promises mean nothing unless more is said actively. I just wanted to write a few things because I didn’t want to continue without writing anything here. I will never really forget what we went through recently.
The father who couldn’t give biscuits to his children, the baby coming out with his mother’s hair in his hands, the father who sacrificed his arm to save his children, the brother who bravely woke up at night to save his family but passed away, the man who rescued his fiancee from the rubble, the one who held onto his dead daughter’s hand, and thousands more, all of them… I wish patience to all of them. It’s so hard that I’m crying as I write. I have no words to describe it.
Finally, I embrace all people with good hearts from here, I am glad to have you.
