Death toll from massive Turkey, Syria earthquake tops 47,000
PBS NewsHourDec 23, 2022
The Facts
An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.6 on the Richter scale rocked Turkey's Malatya province on Monday, leading to more building collapses and the death of at least one person. Dozens were also reported injured.
The earthquake is the latest aftershock following the Feb. 6 earthquake that ravaged southern Turkey and northern Syria, killing over 50K people. The quake was reportedly centered around the town of Yesilyurt and led to the collapse of more than two dozen buildings.
The Spin
Narrative A
The Turkish government is doing everything it can to help those affected by these devastating earthquakes and hold corrupt developers, officials, and contractors accountable. For too long, contractors and building companies have cut corners, leading to thousands of deaths in this horrific tragedy. The government's investigation will be as thorough as possible — the public deserves answers to why so much devastation has occurred.
Narrative B
Many impacts of this earthquake could have been lessened if only Erdoğan's government had dealt seriously with supervising urban development in quake-prone areas, enforcing the mandatory earthquake-resistant design codes to buildings its legislation approved in 2000. There are two major fault lines along the Anatolian Plate, and earthquake mitigation is vital given the likelihood of catastrophic tremors. Erdoğan's prospects for re-election seem to be dwindling as anger grows.
