A powerful earthquake in the Turkish city of İzmir triggered a tidal surge that hit at least two Greek islands. Rescue teams from both countries along the Aegean coast searched for collapsed buildings and concrete debris on Saturday, finding at least 27 bodies and hundreds of injured people.
At least 60 aftershocks have affected the Greek islands of Samos and Ikaria since the powerful 7.0 magnitude quake struck, experts said Saturday in Athens.
The strong quake originated from a 250-kilometer-long fault zone off the coast of Samos, which cuts through the Aegean Sea that divides the two rival islands of Turkey and Greece.
But just hours after the quake struck Greece and Turkey, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis made a rare phone call to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to express his condolences.
“Whatever our conflicts, this is a moment for us to be synergistic,” Mizotakis posted on Twitter.
He was met with a response to the gesture.
In a tweet, Turkey’s strongman president replied: “The solidarity and mutual support shown by two neighboring countries in difficult times is more valuable than many things in life.”
Although Greece and Turkey are both members of NATO, perhaps no other relationship between the two neighboring allies has been as dominated by conflict and mistrust as that of Greece and Turkey. Just recently, the two countries have been embroiled in a bitter standoff over energy in the eastern Mediterranean, with both sides nearly on the brink of war over the summer.
The European Union and the United States have been trying for months to resolve their differences by sitting down and negotiating, but to no avail. It is unclear whether the powerful earthquake will warm relations between the two countries.
Greece has yet to provide relief personnel and supplies to assist Turkey’s earthquake-stricken Izmir and surrounding provinces.
Greece and Turkey only recently re-established a military hotline, but diplomatic talks planned for early October were cancelled. Despite this, millions of Greeks continue to follow the tragedy in their country and neighboring countries from their television sets.
Dramatic footage was broadcast on Turkish television, crossed with scenes of the search on the island of Samos. Two teenagers on the island of Samos were on their way home from school when they were struck and killed by a building with collapsing walls and falling balconies.
In Izmir, cars and household items such as refrigerators, chairs, and tables float along the main road in scenes almost identical to those of the disaster that struck the port towns of Samos and Ikaria.
With the exception of the two dead teenage students, all of the victims were from Turkey. Experts expect the death toll to rise.
Greek seismologist Akis Tselentis warned that strong aftershocks are expected due to the shallow depth of the epicenter (about 10 kilometers underground). He said aftershocks could be expected for the next two months.
France offered aid to the two countries on Saturday as a “show of solidarity to Greece and Turkey.
Recent Comments