Devastating Earthquake Hits Turkey And Greece Creating Mini Tsunami In Izmir

A powerful earthquake of 7.0 hit magnitude hit Turkey and Greece recently, killing at least six people, levelling buildings and creating a mini tsunami that flooded streets near the Turkish resort city of Izmir. Also ravaged by mini-tsunami was the eastern Aegean Sea island of Samos.

The small tsunami that hit the Turkish coast also affected Samos, with seawater flooding streets in the main harbour town of Vathi. Authorities warned people to stay away from the coast and from potentially damaged buildings. Ragip Soylu, the Turkish journalist, tweeted a video that showed a particular area deluged with surging seawater in Izmir. Houses were submerged as water flowed through the neighbourhood, carrying furniture and other household items along with it. “Another tsunami footage from the earthquake in Izmir province of Turkey. This one is really dangerous,” Ragip Soylu said in the caption of his post.

Multiple reports say 20 buildings had collapsed, with officials focussing their rescue efforts on 17 of them. The scenes of devastation suggested the toll could rise. The region’s governor said 70 people had been pulled out alive by Friday evening, although how many more were missing remained unknown by sunset.

Clouds of dust or smoke rose from several spots as buildings collapsed in the quake. Greek seismologist Akis Tselentis told Greek state broadcaster ERT that due to the shallow depth of its epicentre — roughly 10 kilometres — potentially powerful aftershocks could be expected for several weeks and warned that buildings could collapse in a strong aftershock. The government and cities like Istanbul sent more than 3,000 rescue personnel to Izmir, as well as relief supplies. The Turkish Red Crescent set up kitchens. France offered assistance to both countries. The secretary of state for European affairs tweeted France’s “full solidarity with Greece and Turkey” and said, “we are ready to offer the necessary aid.”

On the Greek island of Samos, near the quake’s epicentre, people rushed out into the streets in panic. Greece and Turkey are both situated in one of the world’s most active earthquake zones. The two uneasy neighbours also suffer from historically poor relations despite both being members of the NATO military alliance. But the quake saw a spurt of what pundits immediately termed “earthquake diplomacy”, after the two countries’ foreign ministers promised to help each in a rare phone call. Some of the world’s strongest earthquakes have been registered along a fault line that runs across Turkey to Greece.