Turkey's weak strongman

The old idea that autocracies are better than raucous democracies at getting things done found new life during the coronavirus pandemic. Many Western commentators argued that while democracies dithered and debated, autocracies were quick to respond and mobilize their resources. Sometimes that might be true—but only if you are the right kind of autocracy. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Turkey, it turned out, is not one of them.

Erdogan’s response to the country’s devastating earthquake on Feb. 6 was painfully slow and uncoordinated. But regimes in which power is centralized are supposed to be fast and organized. All Erdogan had to do was pick up the phone and order his commanders to dispatch NATO’s second-largest army to the badly hit cities, mobilize the bureaucracy to send much-needed aid, and deploy emergency response teams. He did not. Just minutes after the 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit 10 Turkish provinces, troops stood ready to step in and take part in search and rescue operations. Yet in the critical early hours, the order from the top never came. Nor did Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD) rush to help the victims. Why?

Read more af: https://foreignpolicy.com/2023/03/01/turkey-erdogan-earthquake-apk-strongman-authoritarianism-democracy-military-disaster-relief/ 

US -TURKEY RELATIONS: US revieuws relationship with Turkey and its membership in NATO

Senator Bob Menendez, a Democrat from New Jersey and head of the powerful US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, took the floor on December 19 to deliver a scathing inventory of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s domestic and foreign policy misdeeds.

“The United States must take the Turkish president’s actions seriously,” Menendez told the Senate. “We need to hold Erdogan accountable for his behaviour when he violates international laws, or challenges democratic norms, or allows his forces to commit human rights abuses,” the US senator continued before hitting the objective of his speech. 

"Note EU-Digest : Polls show that Turkey's Predident Erdogan, following the recent devastating earthquake on the 6th of February, that a majority of the Turkish population is convinced, that the corrupt Erdogan and his government allowed a variety of building contractors, not to take building codes serious, resulting in 44.000 death.

Read more at: https://www.france24.com/en/&sa=U&ved=2ahUKEwjX9d2V8K_9AhWtElkFHUG0CHEQFnoECAYQAg&usg=AOvVaw1ltATu2HmuF1fr3MVTiGzQ

Turkey: the earthquake which could have political consequences for the Erdogan government - by RM

There are 330 thousand contractors in Turkey. Compare this to 25 thousand in the whole of Europe.

Even though Turkey has 330 thousand  contractors, it raises the question, why did the recent earthquake in Turkey, which resulted in more people killed and damage done than in any similar 7.8 earthquakes around the world ?

Could it be that Turkey's Erdogan government, which has  given official operating permits to more contractors and inspectors, than any other country in the world, has made Turkey a gigantic construction site and money laundering operation, where safety is not the major component on the list.

It resulted that in one terrible moment South East Turkey became a huge  cemetery.  

May the souls of those who perished in this horrible disaster "Rest in Peace".

Read more at:

https://www.eu-digest.blogspot.com

Turkey Earthquake: already more than 11.000 died

Search teams and aid poured into Turkey and Syria on Tuesday as rescuers working in freezing temperatures and sometimes using their bare hands dug through the remains of buildings flattened by a powerful earthquake. The death toll soared above 7,200 and was still expected to rise.

Read more at: https//www.euronews.com

Turkey Earthquake: Man, 70, pulled out alive in Turkey as quake's death toll hits 60

Rescue workers extricated a 70-year-old man from a collapsed building in western Turkey on Sunday, some 34 hours after a strong earthquake in the Aegean Sea struck Turkey and Greece, killing at least 60 people and injuring more than 900.

Read more at: Man, 70, pulled out alive in Turkey as quake's death toll hits 60 | CBC News

Turkey: Deadly 7.0 earthquake rocks western Turkey, Greece

A strong earthquake struck the Aegean Sea on Friday and inflicted damage in both Greece and Turkey, where buildings collapsed killing at least four people with many others trapped in the rubble.

Read more at: Deadly earthquake rocks western Turkey, Greece | Greece | Al Jazeera

Croatia: Earthquake rocks Croatia's capital Zagreb

The 5.3-magnitude tremor sent chunks of buildings falling into the streets in Zagreb.

Read more at:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/opinion/opinion-universal-basic-income-1.5501938

Cuba Earthquake: South Florida feels massive 7.7 magnitude earthquake centered near Cuba

People all over Miami say they felt buildings swaying after a massive earthquake measuring 7.7 magnitude was centered between the island nations of Cuba and Jamaica on Tuesday.

The United States Geological Survey reports the quake began at 2:10 p.m. and was centered 86 miles northwest of Montego Bay, Jamaica, and 87 miles west-southwest of Niquero, Cuba.

A tsunami warning was not issued for any region, but the National Weather Service says waves up to 3 feet above tide level are possible for Cuba, Jamaica, Mexico, Belize, Honduras and the Cayman Islands.

Miami City Commissioner Ken Russell says those in eight buildings in the Brickell and downtown areas self-evacuated and the building department was onsite. The Stephen P. Clark Government Center has been closed as a precaution.    

Read more at: South Florida feels massive 7.7 magnitude earthquake centered near 

Turkey earthquake: At least 14 dead as buildings collapse

At least 14 people are killed and buildings collapse after the 6.8 magnitude quake. Casualty mumbers increasing by the hour

Read more at:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-51245088

USA: California Earthquakes: Seismologists Search Depths, But Cause May Be in Heavens

Last week, two separate geologic faults generated swarms of earthquakes on the west coast of the United States. While seismologists searched the depths of the earth for clues, a Nibiru expert suggested that scientists should instead lift their eyes to the heavens to better understand the bigger picture.

The beginning of November witnessed a swarm of 39 earthquakes hitting Northern California over the course of 24 hours. The largest tremor, registering 4.1 on the Richter Scale, hit recently and was followed by 20 aftershocks. The seismic activity originated in the volatile San Andreas Fault.

The day before the San Andreas swarm of quakes hit Northern California, the Cascadia subduction zone, a fault in the tectonic plates running 700 miles from Vancouver Island in Canada down to California’s Cape Mendocino, shook, generating a 4.9 magnitude earthquake. Ten days earlier, the same region was hit by three quakes measuring 6.5, 6.6 and 6.8, w

Note EU-Digest: The Alaska quake today is another warning of what California might still be facing. As if the fires and flooding have not done enough damage to the State. As it has been written  in Revelation 14:7 And he said with a loud voice, "Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come, and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water."
Read more: California Earthquakes: Seismologists Search Depths, But Cause May Be in Heavens

Middle East: A 7.3 Magnitude Earthquake Jolts Area Around Iran-Iraq Border - by Nasser Karimi and Amir Vahdut

Damage after a 7.3 earthquake

A powerful 7.3 magnitude earthquake near the Iraq-Iran border killed over 400 people across both countries, sent residents fleeing their homes into the night and was felt as far away as the Mediterranean coast, authorities said Monday.11/13/2017

Iran’s western Kermanshah province bore the brunt of the temblor Sunday night, with authorities saying the quake killed 407 people in the country and injured 6,700. Kermanshah is a rural, mountainous region where residents rely mainly on farming.

In Iraq, the earthquake killed at least seven people and injured 535, all in the country’s northern Kurdish region, according to Iraq’s Interior Ministry.

The quake was centered 19 miles (31 kilometers) outside the eastern Iraqi city of Halabja, according to the most recent measurements from the U.S. Geological Survey. It struck at 9:48 p.m. Iran time, just as people began retiring for the night.

Read more: A.7.3 Magnitude Earthquake Jolts Area Around Iran-Iraq Border | Time

USA - Earthquake: California could be hit by an 8.2 mega-earthquake, and it would be catastrophic - by Rong-Gong Lin II

Damage during the last major California Earthquake

The magnitude 8.2 earthquake that ravaged southern Mexico on Sept. 7 was the largest to shake the country in nearly a century.

Like California, Mexico is a seismically active region that has seen smaller quakes that have caused death and destruction. But the Sept. 7 temblor is a reminder that even larger quakes — while rare — do occur.

Scientists say it’s possible for Southern California to be hit by a magnitude 8.2 earthquake. Such a quake would be far more destructive to the Los Angeles area because the San Andreas fault runs very close to and underneath densely populated areas.

The devastating quakes that hit California over the last century were far smaller than the Sept. 7 temblor, which Mexican authorities set at magnitude 8.2 and the U.S. Geological Survey placed at 8.1. Mexico’s earthquake produced four times more energy than the great 1906 San Francisco earthquake, a magnitude 7.8, which killed 3,000 people and sparked a fire that left much of the city in ruins.

Southern California’s most recent mega-quake was in 1857, also estimated to be magnitude 7.8, when the area was sparsely populated. (That was considerably stronger than the 7.1 quake that hit Mexico on Tuesday, causing buildings to collapse and leading to a significant loss of life).

A magnitude 8.2 earthquake would rupture the San Andreas fault from the Salton Sea — close to the Mexican border — all the way to Monterey County. The fault would rupture through counties including Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino.

An 8.2 earthquake would be far worse here because the San Andreas fault runs right through areas such as the Coachella Valley — home to Palm Springs — and the San Bernardino Valley, along with the San Gabriel Mountains north of Los Angeles. The fault is about 30 miles from downtown Los Angeles.

In Mexico, “you’ve got [many] people a pretty long way aways from it,” seismologist Lucy Jones said. But in Southern California, “we’d have a lot of people right on top of it. It would be shallow, and it runs through our backyard.”

A magnitude 8.2 on the San Andreas fault would cause damage in every city in Southern California, Jones has said, from Palm Springs to San Luis Obispo.

Read more: California could be hit by an 8.2 mega-earthquake, and it would be catastrophic - LA Times

Nuclear Test North Korea? Earthquake in North Korea a 'suspected explosion': China

China's earthquake administration said on Saturday it had detected a magnitude 3.4 earthquake in North Korea that was a "suspected explosion", raising fears the isolated state had conducted another nuclear bomb test weeks after its last one.

An official at South Korea's meteorological agency said they were analysing the tremor, which they put at magnitude 3.0, but the initial view was that it was a natural quake.

Read more: Earthquake in North Korea a 'suspected explosion': China

Mexico: 7.1 magnitude quake kills 55 as buildings collapse in Mexico - by M. Stevenson,C.Christopher, S. Sherman, and P.Orsi

A magnitude 7.1 earthquake rocked central Mexico on Tuesday, killing at least 55 people as buildings collapsed in plumes of dust and thousands fled into the streets in panic.

The quake came less than two weeks after another quake left 90 dead in the country's south, and it occurred as Mexicans commemorated the anniversary of a 1985 quake that killed thousands.

Mexican media broadcast images of multiple downed buildings in densely populated parts of Mexico City and nearby Cuernavaca.

A column of smoke rose from a structure in one central neighborhood in the capital. Morelos Gov. Graco Ramirez reported on Twitter that at least 42 people had died in his state south of Mexico City.
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Read more: .1 magnitude quake kills 55 as buildings collapse in Mexico

Turkish Tourist Industry Hit Again: Turkey and Greece hit by strong earthquake: - by Helena Smith

Two people were killed, 200 injured and five seriously injured on the Greek island of Kos after an earthquake hit tourist destinations around the Aegean sea in the early hours of Friday.

At least 70 people were injured in Bodrum.Turkey.

The magnitude 6.7 quake injured a further 200 people in Greek and Turkish coastal towns.

The damage was, however, much less than could have been expected for an earthquake of its size. The United States Geological Survey said it was a very shallow quake – only 6 miles (10km) below the seabed – off the south-western coastal city of Marmaris in Muğla province, Turkey.

The epicentre was just 6 miles south of the Turkish resort of Bodrum and 10 miles from Kos.

Read  more: Turkey and Greece hit by strong earthquake: two dead and 200 injured – as it happened | World news | The Guardian

Slovenia - Italy: 4.4 earthquake in Slovenia and Italy, near nuclear plant

A 4.4-magnitude earthquake has struck Slovenia southwest of the country’s capital, Ljubljana, at a depth of 12.4 kilometers, says USGS.

According to the European-Mediterranean Seismological Center, the magnitude of the quake was measured at 4.5, with a depth of 2 kilometers.

The earthquake took place about 200 kilometers from a nuclear power plant at Krško, a town in eastern Slovenia. The plant is co-owned by Slovenia and Croatia.

The quake struck at about 11:00 local time (09:00 GMT).

According to the US Geological Survey (USGS), the quake hit about 5 kilometers northeast of the Slovene town of Ilirska Bistrica, 32 kilometers northwest of the Croatian city of Rijeka and 37 kilometers east of the Italian city of Trieste.

Read more: 4.4 earthquake in Slovenia, Italy, nr nuclear plant — RT News

Earthquake Today Near Miami: 5.0 Quake Hits South of Florida Keys Near Cuba - by Jack Phillips

A earthquake with a magnitude of 5.0 hit south of Florida in the Caribbean Sea off the coast of Cuba Thursday, and it was felt in South Florida in the Keys. The quake was located about 100 miles south of Key West.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake hit 200 miles south of Miami about 20 miles north of Corralillo, Cuba in the Florida Strait. It was located about 112 miles east of Havana, the capital, of the country.

The quake had a depth of 12.4 miles. There was no tsunami warning issued.

Some medium-size buildings in Havana swayed during the earthquake, reported The Associated Press. The temblor lasted for about 30 seconds, witnesses said.

There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries associated with the quake, which occurred at around 4 p.m.

Some people in Florida said they could feel it. “We felt it in Fort Myers, Fl. People in the upper stories of the hospital felt it,” wrote one user on Twitter. 

"Some European tourist vacationing on Miami beach in a high rise ho0tel said they felt a slow sway of their hotel."

Read more: Earthquake Today Near Miami: 5.0 Quake Hits South of Florida Keys Near Cuba

Russia Earthquake: Powerful Temblor Hits Off East Coast In Sea Of Okhotsk - by Nataliya VasIiyeva

A powerful earthquake on Friday hit Russia's Far East with tremors felt as far away as Moscow, about 7,000 kilometers (4,400 miles) west of the epicenter.

Marina Kolomiyets, spokeswoman for Obninsk's seismic station of the Russian Academy of Sciences, told The Associated Press the epicenter was in the Sea of Okhotsk, east of the Russian coast and north of Japan. She said the quake registered 8.0 on the Richter scale.

The U.S. Geological Survey reported a magnitude of 8.2. The epicenter was in the Kuril-Kamchatka arc, one of the most seismically active regions in the world.

Read more: Russia Earthquake: Powerful Temblor Hits Off East Coast In Sea Of Okhotsk

NETHERLANDS: Groningen hit by earthquake

Gas-Rich Groningen Province in the Netherlands was hit again by an Earthquake.

The Dutch province of Groningen, which sits on the large and lucrative Slochteren gas deposit, was hit by another earthquake as pressure grows on Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Exxon Mobil Corp. to cut output amid forecasts of heavier temblors as the natural gas is removed.

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Pakistan: 5.8-quake hits Pakistan

A 5.8-magnitude quake struck Pakistan Saturday night but there was no immediate report of damage or casualty, the Met officials said.

The quake occurred around 11 p.m. The tremor was felt in Islamabad, Peshawar, Lahore and other cities, Xinhua reported. The epicentre was located in the Hindu Kush region.

Read more: 5.8-quake hits Pakistan