Pre-dawn earthquake in Eastern Turkey takes people by surprise; more than 50 dead

An earthquake on Monday early morning razed buildings in a handful of villages in eastern Turkey, leaving more than 51 people dead. Panicked survivors fled into the narrow streets of these village perched on a hill in front of snow-covered mountains, with some people climbing out of windows to escape, TV channels showed.

The 6.0-magnitude earthquake in the eastern Turkish province of Elaz??, knocked down stone and mud-brick houses and minarets in at least six villages around the center of the earthquake in the province’s Karakoçan district, the government said. The earthquake struck at 4:32 a.m. local time, catching many locals in their sleep.

Locals and experts blame the death toll on the quake’s timing combined with poor construction materials and are calling for a rural transformation program to prevent future quakes from causing such damage.

The worst hit area was Okçular village, where 17 people were killed and mud-brick homes were reduced to dust. Another 13 people were killed in the village of Yukar? Demirci, the government sources said.

"Unfortunately, houses made of sun-dried brick constitute the architecture in the region," said Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdo?an, who also expressed regret for the casualties. "We have given necessary directives to the provincial authorities to change the architectural structure in the region.”

Earthquakes are frequent in Turkey, much of which lies on top of two main fault lines. The country’s most devastating recent seismic disaster was the 1999 Marmara earthquake in western Turkey in which at least 17,000 people were killed.

The U.S. Geological Survey listed the quake at 5.9 magnitude.

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- Courtesy Zaman

- Asian Tribune -