Quake Latest: Germany Suspends Rescue Ops on Security Concerns
(Bloomberg) – Germany and Austria suspended rescue operations in Turkey on Saturday, citing safety concerns after this week’s devastating earthquakes that killed over 26,000 people.
Turkey issued its first presidential decree under a state of emergency announced earlier this week, postponing legal procedures related to bankruptcy cases in earthquake-hit areas.
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(All times Istanbul, GMT +3)
Armenian Aid Trucks Arrive After Talks to Restore Relations (4:05 p.m.)
Armenian trucks drove to Turkey for the first time in decades to deliver humanitarian aid to survivors, Armenian diplomat Tigran Balayan wrote on Twitter
Turkey closed its border with Armenia in 1993 over its conflict with Ankara’s ally Azerbaijan, but the two held normalization talks last year.
Read more: Turkish and Armenian leaders bind first talks since 2009 (2)
Germany, Austria Suspend Rescue Operations Due to Safety Concerns (3:56 p.m.)
German and Austrian rescue workers have halted work in Turkey’s Hatay province over security concerns.
“There is increasing intergroup aggression in Turkey. Shots are said to have been fired,” military spokesman Pierre Kugelweis told APA. The Federal Agency for Technical Relief said the security situation had deteriorated in recent hours, DPA reported.
“The expected success in saving a life is disproportionate to the security risk,” Defense Department spokesman Michael Bauer said on Twitter.
UN official expects death toll to double (3:23 p.m.)
UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths predicts the death toll will “double or more,” he said in an interview with Sky.
He described the scene as “a tangle of horrifying rubble that hides those we fear to find and makes it dangerous for these heroic people who do this 24/7 to get to them.”
Turkish universities to go online by summer (2:50 p.m.)
Turkish universities will move classes online by the summer to free up housing for survivors, President Erdogan said.
All dormitories on the university campus will be used to accommodate people affected by the earthquakes, Erdogan said.
Death toll exceeds 26,000 (2:40 p.m.)
The death toll in Turkey and Syria rose to 26,232, according to Turkish officials and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which deploys a network of activists on the ground. Tens of thousands of people are still missing.
The death toll in Turkey surpassed that of the devastating 1999 earthquake near Istanbul, when about 18,000 people died, according to official figures.
The number of people injured in Turkey tops 80,000, the country’s civil protection agency said.
Turkey Postpones Insolvency Proceedings (2:04 p.m.)
Turkey postponed some court cases related to debt enforcement and bankruptcy in 10 provinces in the first presidential decree issued under a three-month state of emergency in the earthquake zone.
Proceedings were postponed from February 6 to April 6, the date when twin quakes struck 10 provinces in Turkey.
25,000 Turkish soldiers take part in relief efforts (11:30 a.m.)
Turkey’s Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said 25,067 military personnel were involved in relief efforts. Incirlik air base in Adana province has been opened for civilian transport, he said.
Major Opposition Leader Calls for Tent Donations (10:18 a.m.)
Kemal Kilicdaroglu, leader of the main opposition party CHP, said there was a shortage of tents for those displaced by the tremors when speaking in quake-hit Malatya province on Saturday.
He urged companies with tent supplies to come forward and promised to buy and distribute them.
Rust Spotted in Some Collapsed Buildings (8:54 am)
Turkish experts found substandard materials and rusting steel in collapsed buildings in Sanliurfa province after an investigation by the Prosecutor General’s Office, news channel NTV reported.
Critics say poor construction and inadequate inspections during construction were among the factors that contributed to the massive devastation.
Miracle Survivor (5:48 AM)
After 122 hours, a 70-year-old woman was evacuated alive from the rubble of an apartment building collapsed by the earthquake in the southeastern Turkish city of Kahramanmaras, state-run Anadolu News Agency said.
Soldiers patrol around banks (5:30 a.m.)
Turkish soldiers have started patrolling streets where banks and jewelry stores are located in Hatay, one of the worst-hit provinces, Fox TV reported.
Turkey Denies Damage to Dams (1:57 am)
Agriculture and Forestry Minister Vahit Kirisci dismissed allegations that the Yarseli Dam in quake-hit Hatay province had been damaged, adding that he would inspect dams in the area on Saturday.
One Million Survivors in Shelters (1:09 am)
More than a million quake survivors have been taken to emergency shelters, said Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay. Almost 200,000 people have been evacuated from the earthquake zone in the west of the country, he said.
–With support from Beril Akman, Tugce Ozsoy, Baris Balci and Ros Krasny.
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