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By sarmasik-efeu.de etc:
Hundreds have been killed by a 7.2- magnitude earthquake which struck the Kurdish city of Van and neighbouring towns in Turkey/north Kurdistan yesterday, making it the most powerful earthquake to hit the country in ten years. The quake was also felt in the provinces of Diyarbakir, Hakkari, Erzurum, Siirt, Mus and Agri.
More than 200 bodies have been recovered and there are fears that the death toll could be much higher.The head of Turkey’s seismology institute told the BBC: “We estimate around 1,000 buildings are damaged and our estimate is for hundreds of lives lost – it could be 500 or 1,000”.
Tens of thousands of residents fled into the streets. The worst damage has been done in Ercis, a city of 75,000 close to the Iranian border and Van, a city of one million about 55 miles (90 kilometers) to the south, also sustained substantial damage. A tent city is being set up at the Ercis sports stadium. Access to the region was made more difficult as the earthquake caused the partial collapse of the main road between Van and Ercis.
Thousands need help:
People in Van and Ercis and the surrounding areas are in need of urgent help. One way to make donations is through the Sarmasik Center for Sustainable Development and the Struggle against Poverty which is a Diyarbakir-centered organisation concerned with fighting poverty:
Sarmasik-Efeu e.V.
Konto-Nr.: 0093349884
BLZ: 305 500 00
Bank: Sparkasse Neuss
Verwendungszweck: Hilfe für Van
BIC: WELADEDNXXX
IBAN: DE89 3055 0000 0093 349884
For more details on making donations go to: http://yalnizdegilsinvan.wordpress.com/international/
Is there any information on whether any of the GAP dams or reservoirs were impacted by the quake?