Extreme cold weather

The magnitude 7.8 quake brought down whole apartment blocks in Turkish cities and piled more devastation on millions of Syrians displaced by years of war. It struck before sunrise in harsh weather and was followed in the early afternoon by another large quake. In Diyarbakir in southeast Turkey, a woman speaking next to the wreckage of the seven-storey block where she lived said: "We were shaken like a cradle. There were nine of us at home. Two sons of mine are still in the rubble, I'm waiting for them." She was nursing a broken arm and had injuries to her face. "It was like the apocalypse," said Abdul Salam al-Mahmoud, a Syrian in the northern town of Atareb. "It's bitterly cold and there's heavy rain, and people need saving." The earthquake was the biggest recorded worldwide by the U.S. Geological Survey since a tremor in the remote South Atlantic in August 2021. In Turkey, the death toll stood at 2,316, the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) said, making … [Read more...] about Major earthquake kills 3,700 in Turkey and Syria, weather hits survivors

Spring in the mountainous province of Ha Giang. (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Severe cold spell s are expected to hit northern mountainous and midland provinces in the second half of this month, according to the National Centre for Hydro-meteorological Forecasting. Nguyen Duc Hoa, deputy head of the agency’s Weather Forecasting Department, said that in the first half of this month, as intensive cold air tends to be weakened and deviates to the East, northern and northcentral localities from Thanh Hoa to Nghe An will see light rain, drizzle, and fog at night and in the early morning. Meanwhile, there are possibilities that severe cold and harmful cold will appear later this month in mountainous and midland provinces, he added. Hoa said that the average temperature across the country this month is at approximately similar to the average of many years. Particularly, in the northwest region, the common temperature is 0.5-1.5 degrees Celsius higher than the average of many … [Read more...] about Severe cold spells expected to hit northern mountainous provinces late this month

HATAY, Turkey/DAMASCUS -- The screams of people still trapped in the rubble filled the night early on Tuesday and relatives wept for their loved ones as the death toll in Turkey and in neighbouring northwest Syria rose to more than 3,700. The magnitude 7.8 quake rippled through both countries early on Monday, toppling entire apartment blocks, wrecking hospitals, and leaving thousands more people injured or homeless. Freezing winter weather hampered search efforts for survivors through the night into Tuesday. A man stands in front of a collapsed building after an earthquake in Osmaniye, Turkey February 6, 2023. Photo: Reuters Under a pile of rubble in the southern province of Hatay, a woman's voice could be heard calling for help. Nearby, the body of a small child lay lifeless. Weeping in the rain, a local resident who gave his name as Deniz wrung his hands in despair. "They're making noises but nobody is coming," he said. "We're devastated, we're devastated. … [Read more...] about In Turkey, night fills with screams and crying as earthquake rescues go on