Earthquake shakes things up; Turkey, Syria impacted by rumbles

     Rumbles, chaos, and terror; on Monday, Feb. 6, there was a magnitude 6.3 earthquake that ruptured in southern Turkey near the Syrian border. There were ninety aftershocks that followed; the biggest recorded was at 5.8 magnitude. 

     There were hundreds of rescuers and portals out trying to save those who were in danger. According to CNN, “as a precaution, the agency advised in the quake’s immediate aftermath that people avoid the area’s coastline, noting that sea levels could rise as much as 50 cm., or just under 20 inches, as a result of the disaster.” 

     The AFAD (The Disaster and Emergency Management Authority) had removed the warning an hour later, saying that the water levels were not considered a serious threat anymore. CNN claims, “it cited input from the Kandilli Observatory and Earthquake Research Institute, which is located outside of Istanbul and had been monitoring the repercussions of the tremor.” 

     About “50,000 people were killed” across the two countries. It was claimed that, “more than 5,700 buildings in Turkey have collapsed, according to the country’s disaster agency, and questions have been asked about the integrity of structures in some areas of the affected regions.” 

     There have been many conversations with officials regarding the structure of the building and figuring out the real reason these buildings have been collapsing. There are communities and workers trying to bring back the people and land together. 

     Sophomore Ethan Milburne says “what happened in Turkey and Syria is pretty disastrous, and I feel so bad for what everyone is going through.” 

     Freshman Cayden Sowders also agrees with Milburne but also says, “the building should be built a lot better, because they are not regulated well at all.” 

     Both students heard about this from CNN 10 in their history and government classes. Milburne says, “If there was an earthquake here, I would get to the lowest point possible, because if you go higher and the building were to collapse, you would go down with it. Being under the collapsed building would make me more stable.” 

     Sowders claims, “I would go under my desk because that is what I was taught, but honestly I don’t think it would help me at all if the whole building collapsed.” He mentioned that he probably has experienced an earthquake earlier in his life but “doesn’t remember it at all.” 

     Milburne claims “I would help pull out as much as i can to better other people’s circumstances because I want to be able to help others.” Sowders was the opposite, saying he would “not help because if [he] was stuck, [he] would first worry about helping [himself].”