Collapsed apartment buildings, rubble strewed across streets, families sheltered in tents in a soccer stadium: Initial imagery shows widespread destruction in Kahramanmaras, Turkey, a city of about 400,000 located between the epicenter of the devastating magnitude 7.8 earthquake Monday and the unusually strong aftershock that struck hours later.
Using satellite imagery, The New York Times identified nearly 200 buildings in central Kahramanmaras, also known as Marash, that showed clear signs of destruction. The downtown district with taller buildings was hit particularly hard, while residential areas outside the city’s center had less apparent destruction.
The damage in Marash is just a sliver of the wreckage seen across southern Turkey and northwestern Syria. The earthquake was one of the most powerful ever recorded in the region, about the same magnitude as a 1939 earthquake in Turkey that killed more than 30,000 people.
Whole blocks near the city’s center have been reduced to rubble. Cars line the roads, with people — whose homes were destroyed or who feel unsafe staying in damaged or vulnerable buildings — sleeping inside the vehicles. The city’s soccer stadium has been turned into an aid distribution point, where displaced families shelter in tents. A nearby hospital once surrounded by buildings now stands alone.
The president of Turkey visited survivors at the stadium Wednesday. He acknowledged that rescue efforts had been slowed by blocked roads and airport infrastructure issues and said more help was on the way.
For days, rescue teams and family members have been working through rubble of collapsed buildings throughout the city. Many survivors are angry that it has taken so long for heavy machinery to arrive as they search for loved ones trapped in the destruction.
Many of the collapsed structures are eight- to 10-story apartment buildings that are common in the city.
On many blocks, only a few buildings remain. Freezing temperatures have made rescue efforts more difficult and have increased the urgency to find those still missing.
Central Marash, where much of the destruction happened, was densely populated with apartment buildings, often with retail stores and restaurants on the ground level.
According to reports from the Turkish government, Kahramanmaras province, where Marash is located, was among the hardest-hit regions. This past week, a three-month state of emergency went into effect for 10 of Turkey’s 81 provinces, including Kahramanmaras. As of Thursday afternoon, the province has reported more than 4,800 people dead and nearly 10,000 others injured. Death counts in Turkey and Syria are expected to rise as rescue teams continue their search.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
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