Istanbul in fear – take care of further quake

13 seconds are enough to panic millions. 13 seconds that feel like an eternity for many residents of Istanbul because huge forces shake the whole city. Most residents rush on the streets, some jump out of the windows – 151 people are injured according to the authorities. With the quake of the thickness 6.2, the city still got off lightly, according to the Ministry of the Interior there are no deaths. But what if an even stronger quake follows how experts fear?

Stay calm – or flee?

Until Wednesday evening, more than 120 sometimes strong aftershocks were scared and horror. The parks and open spaces of the city filled, families with their children and grandparents, with pets in transport boxes, some also with emergency bags that contain a blanket, water and a trill pipe if you are spilled. Long traffic jams formed on the streets that left the city to spend the night in the surrounding area – if necessary in the car.

Because that’s the big question: where to? Just back home? « The building is safe, don’t worry, » calls a tea dealer in the old town. Tourists also shop on the well -known Istiklal shopping street, as if it were a day like any other. While some passers -by stay cool, others cannot calm down, they cry and tremble.

Fear of the big quake

It cannot be ruled out that another strong quake will follow, the geologist Okan Tüysüz told the broadcaster NTV. The main quake will still come, earthquake researcher Naci Görür on the X platform. The current shocks increased the tensions there, according to Görür. When the big quake hits the megametropolis is uncertain. However, according to experts, it is certain that it will happen.

Criticism of disaster protection

Nevertheless, the city is considered poorly prepared. Criticism in social networks will soon be loud: Istanbul is totally installed, even open spaces that are actually intended for such emergencies are not accessible, some even sealed off with fences, according to the posts.

The opposition news agency Anka reports that the police chased people who wanted to open tents in the central Gezi Park so as not to have to go back to their apartments.

« There is simply no guarantee for the security of the infrastructure, » says a young German who works in the metropolis on the Bosphorus, the dpa. « The city is simply not prepared for earthquakes, neither in terms of building structure nor as far as the security measures are concerned. » For example, many would not have received a warning SMS, although there is such a system.

The residents of Istanbul are accordingly concerned. Some hurried to hospitals to pick up their sick relatives from there and bring it to safety – including a bedside and drip as pictures of the state broadcaster showed. Others can hardly be irritated: On a video of the DHA news agency, a veterinarian who operates a cat in the trunk of a car is to be seen because she had previously been surprised by the quake during the procedure.

Infrastructure so far intact

According to the Istanbul governor’s office, there were no collapsed houses; Only an empty house in the Fatih district should have collapsed. Transport Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu writes on the platform X that there were no damage to roads, airports, trains and subways when the inventory was taken. Urban Minister Murat Kurum spoke of twelve evacuated buildings in the evening. The Turkish airline Turkish Airlines announced that the prices for all domestic flights were limited to a maximum of 1750 Turkish lira (around 40 euros). If necessary, further flights could also be used – for those who want to leave the city as soon as possible.

Experts warn of possible further quakes

At the German Helmholtz Center for Geof research (GFZ) in Potsdam, the processes are also observed very well. « There are two scenarios at the present time: either the immediate region is now relaxed for the time being and the seismicity is slowly decaying, or the voltage rejections generated by the quake increase the likelihood of a larger earthquake in the region, » said a GFZ announcement.

Experts assume that a quake around strength 7 in Istanbul is long overdue. According to the Turkish urban minister of urban, 1.5 million apartments and commercial units are at risk of an earthquake.

Imamoglu: Can’t be with you on this difficult day

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan assured the citizens at noon, the Afad disaster service, the Ministry of Health and all other state institutions are at full alert. « We watch the situation exactly, » he wrote on the X platform.

The detained Turkish opposition leader and deposed mayor Istanbul, Ekrem Imamoglu, also spoke up on X. The Istanbuler addressed his grief about « not being able to be with you on this difficult day ». He appealed to unity, cohesion and solidarity in the fight against the natural disaster.

Again and again catastrophic earthquakes

Turkey has painful experiences with earthquakes. At the beginning of 2023, tens of thousands of people were killed in the Southeast Turkey in two devastating quakes of 7.7 and 7.6 in Southeast Turkey, and there were 53,000 victims in Turkey alone. The last strong quake near Istanbul was in 1999 – at that time more than 18,000 people died.