Image of biblical destruction conveyed Greek scientists is in earthquake-affected areas of Turkey. As they describe, whole cities with tens and hundreds of thousands of inhabitants will be razed to the ground. However, the situation appears to be under control in terms of managing thousands of quake detectors as aid continues to flow into the region.

Yesterday, a group of scientists from NTUA and the University of Athens arrived in the earthquake-affected areas. “I have been in many disasters around the world, but I think this is one of the worst. It can be compared to the 1988 earthquake in the Soviet Union and the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. I am very afraid that there will be a sharp increase in the number of dead, ”he says about Panagiotis Karidis, Distinguished Professor of Earthquake Structures, NTUA Department of Civil Engineering, from Hatay. “The scale of the damage is huge. Whatever help is sent is a drop in the ocean. There are areas where a person has not yet been.

They collapsed instantly

The NTUA team will look into how the buildings collapsed. “Unfortunately, a large number of buildings collapsed instantly. Most people didn’t even manage to defend themselves, let alone get out. Apparently, there were many reasons for this. First of all, the magnitude of the earthquake was huge.

If you drive from Adana towards the area affected by the earthquake, after Osmaniye you will meet only ruins.

Secondly, the small depth of the earthquake and the small distance of cities from the epicenter. This results in what we call “harmonic collapse” where some buildings stand and others lie in ruins, depending on how the ground is stimulated. Thirdly, the buildings did not have the necessary seismic resistance. We understand this by the type of damage and the behavior of buildings. Finally, at dawn, the first earthquake occurred, all the people were at home and sleeping. It would be another matter if they were on the road, in motion, or even in a hurry.”

Despite the magnitude of the disaster, the situation appears to be (relatively) under control. “The composure of people in such a terrible situation is admirable. Everywhere people, security forces, volunteers. Camps are constantly being set up, ambulances and supply trucks everywhere.”

“Traveling from Adana to the area affected by the earthquake, after Osmaniye, you will meet only ruins. Everything is aligned, ”says about Manolis Vasilakis, Associate Professor, Department of Geology, University of Athens. “I have been in several disasters, but never on this scale. Adakei was completely destroyed. Everywhere you see high-rise buildings on the ground, even modern buildings are badly damaged. And just think, in the fault of 250 km we saw only 30 km.

A team from the University of Athens will study the geological phenomena that accompanied the disaster, such as subsidence and landslides. “All roads are closed by thousands of cars. It is not known whether they come to the rescue, look for their own, or leave. Everywhere ambulances and bulldozers. I wonder how many hundreds of thousands of homeless people will be resettled, how many millions of tons of rubble will be taken out of the cities, how people will get on their feet.”