Residents said that during the tremors, water rose up from under the ground and became stagnant.
Demirkopru:
The small, gray house in southern Turkey that once looked out over the street may appear untouched by last week’s big earthquake, but it is now one floor lower.
Around the building in the village of Demirkopru, home to 1,000 people, are pieces of debris floating in dirty water, broken pavements and unbalanced houses.
The February 6 earthquake and aftershocks that devastated large parts of Turkey and Syria and killed over 44,000 people caused Demirkopru to split in two.
“The houses were submerged four meters (13 feet),” said Mahir Karatas, a 42-year-old farmer and owner of the gray house. “The ground went up and down.”
A half-dozen buildings, close to Kartas’ house, seem to be facing the wrath of God. The body of a black and white cow is buried in dry mud inside the remains of a farm shed.
Fortunately, no one died in Demirkopru, but some were injured, despite the heavy damage.
Rescue efforts in Hatay province are largely focused on Antakya, an ancient city 20 kilometers (12.5 mi) from Demirkopru that was devastated by the earthquake.
Residents said that during the tremors, water rose up from under the ground and became stagnant.
The ornate causeway no longer exists. Some bits are now a meter higher than others.
“Here, it became like an island,” said Murat Yar, 38, who lives on the terrace.
“It went up, down, up, down, and then it slid down 30 meters. We saw water and sand coming out,” he said, mimicking the earthquake’s waves with his hands.
‘really scared’
Yar said, “residents could jump out of the windows of their one- and two-story houses”, unlike Antakya where people lived in multi-story houses.
When the earthquake struck, the villagers scrambled to safety in an area designated by the authorities in case of any aftershocks. But such was his force, even as he broke down.
In front of a school whose gate was thrown 20 meters away, there is a yawning gap that has caved in but there is no damage visible on the building façade.
Further away, four buildings belonging to another school appear like a stack of dominoes on top of a large earthen mound.
“I told myself, ‘We’re dead, we’re over’,” said Man.
Hatice Sahan, a 58-year-old woman wearing a headscarf, summarized how everyone felt on February 6: “We were really scared.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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