MANILA (UPDATE) — A Filipina in Turkey is calling for help after a magnitude 7.8 quake killed hundreds of people in their sleep on Monday.
“Nag-message ako sa mga Pinay na sa ibang part ng Turkey na kung pwede, humingi sila ng tulong sa Philippine Embassy. Na, kailangan namin ng ano dito, unan, kumot, importante yung blanket, tubig, pagkain, saka emergency light,” said Caroline Cengiz, who has been living in Turkey for five years.
(I messaged other Filipinas in other parts of Turkey. I said maybe they can reach out to the Philippine Embassy. We need help. We need pillow, blankets, and blankets are important, water, food, and emergency lights.)
Even the Turkish government has yet to provide aid to some of its citizens in the town of Antakya in Hatay province, she said.
“Nag-aantay po kami ng tulong…wala pa po kasi. Sabi nila after 1 week pa daw po,” she lamented.
(We are waiting for help...we were told it would come after 1 week.)
Cengiz she and her husband were about to sleep when the quake struck.
“Di pa kami tulog ng asawa ko, so nakahiga po kami pero nung mag-start na pong mag-earthquake, na maano lang siya, pakonti lang. Ni-ready namin yung katawan namin na lumabas na ng pintuan.”
“So natigil kami sa labas ng pintuan, bumagsak po kami, doon na po as in tuloy-tuloy na yung paglindol na. Dalawa kami ng asawa ko na natumba kami eh. Nasugatan pa yung mga kamay ko eh,” she said.
(We weren't asleep yet, we were just lying down when we felt the first tremors. We prepared to leave our apartment. When we got to the door, we fell--both my husband and I. I have wounds on my hand.)
She said the staircase of their apartment was shaking even as they were going down.
“Tsaka nag-start na akong nagsisigaw, ayon takbo lang ako pababa ng apartment, then ayun nakita namin, as in yung first floor bagsak na.”
(I already started yelling, I ran down the apartment. Then when we made our exit, we saw the first floor had already collapsed.
Cengiz said she and her husband are now staying in their car after the earthquake damaged their apartment.
“Nasa loob po kami ng sasakyan, yung iba po, nag-stay na sa open area. Gumawa sila ng tent na maliit. Eh winter pa naman ngayon, sobrang lamig,” she said.
(We are in our car. Others have stayed in an open area, where they have pitched their tents. It's winter and it's so cold now.)
“Sobrang lamig po eh. Saka umuulan pa. Eh may mga bata, nagkakasakit.”
(It's so cold and it's raining. There are children getting sick.)
She appealed to the Philippine government to send them help as soon as possible.
“Kailangan po namin ng tulong niyo kasi may mga Pilipina po tayo na affected. Lalo na yung isang kaibigan ko na isang Pinay dito sa amin na galing lang siya ng sakit, eh kailangan niya ng blanket, patubig.”
(We need your help because there are affected Filipinas. One of my Pinay friends just came from an illness and she needs blanket and a steady supply of water.)
Meanwhile, in the Turkish capital of Ankara, Filipinos remain safe, said Diyosa Ruby Degracia, a Pinay who works there as a nanny.
"As of now, dito po sa Ankara, okay naman po kami dito, lahat po ng mga Pilipino dito is safe po. "
(As of now, here in Anakara, we are safe. All Filipinos are safe here.)
In neighboring Syria, meanwhile, Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) spokesperson Teresita Daza said that about 60 Filipinos were affected by the earthquake: 27 in Aleppo, 19 in Latakia, 11 in Tartous, and 3 in Hama.
No Filipino was injured in the quake, particularly in the hardest-hit areas of Aleppo, Hama, and Latakia, Daza said.
She also said that the Philippine Embassy in Damascus has contacted Filipino community leaders in the earthquake-hit areas.
Dozens of nations have pledged aid after the 7.8-magnitude quake, which hit as people were still sleeping and amid freezing weather that has hampered emergency efforts.
Multi-storey apartment buildings full of residents were among the 5,606 structures reduced to rubble in Turkey, while Syria announced dozens of collapses, as well as damage to archaeological sites in Aleppo.
Monday's first earthquake struck at 4:17am (0117 GMT) at a depth of about 18 kilometres (11 miles) near the Turkish city of Gaziantep, which is home to around two million people, the US Geological Survey said.
Denmark's geological institute said tremors reached the east coast of Greenland about eight minutes after the main quake struck Turkey.
More than 12,000 people are injured in Turkey, the disaster management agency said, while Syria said at least 3,411 people were injured. With Agence France-Presse
--TeleRadyo, 7 February 2022
People try to help victims at the site of a collapsed building after an earthquake in Diyarbakir, Turkey 06 February 2023. According to the US Geological Service, an earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.8 struck southeast Turkey close to the Syrian border. The earthquake caused buildings to collapse and sent shockwaves over northwest Syria, Cyprus, and Lebanon. EPA-EFE/DENIZ TEKIN