Earthquake Wreaks Havoc on Parts of Greece and Turkey
Michael Morano
International News Writer
A powerful earthquake has recently hit part of western Turkey and the nearby Greek island of Samos. This has resulted in the destruction of many buildings and the deaths of many people.
The earthquake struck on October 30th in the Aegean Sea with a magnitude of 7.0 according to the United States Geological Survey, although Turkish officials say it was 6.6. Western Turkey took the brunt of the damage, followed shortly by the Greek island of Samos, with tremors felt as far away as Athens and Istanbul. The majority of the damage sustained occurred in the Turkish province of Izmir, where over a dozen people were killed and close to 800 were injured in the initial wave. Since then, the death toll has risen to at least 80 in Turkey and two on Samos. Following the earthquake, a mini-tsunami was formed which caused massive amounts of flooding and damage in Izmir and Samos, and the city of Izmir itself, the third largest city in Turkey, has seen over a dozen buildings collapse. Both countries have since started search and rescue operations to free people from the wreckage, with just over 100 people having been rescued so far.
Turkey and Greece are no strangers when it comes to earthquakes or slight tremors, as both countries sit on fault lines. Since July 2019, the two nations have experienced tremors and earthquakes that caused considerable damage. Despite this shared experience, relations between the two Greece and Turkey have not been friendly recently due to a dispute over territory and resources in the Mediterranean Sea. However, because of the earthquake, both countries have decided to put aside this conflict in an effort to work together to recover. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis tweeted, “Whatever our differences, these are times when our people need to stand together,” and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said, “That two neighbors show solidarity in difficult times is more valuable than many things in life.”
Contact Michael at michael.morano1@student.shu.edu