JINDIRES, Syria - The Kurdish town of Jindires in northern Syria is among areas strongly-hit by last week’s twin earthquakes which has killed nearly 35,000 people in both Syria and Turkey. The residents of the city recount the moment the natural disaster took place and complain about lack of humanitarian aid.
A disastrous 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck the city of Kahramanmaras in southern Turkey on Monday dawn. It was followed by another quake with a similar strength. Their impact is also ripping through Syria.
Turkish disaster agency said on Sunday that 29,605 people were killed by the tremor in Turkey, and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported 5,273 deaths in Syria.
Over 1100 buildings and houses have been damaged in the Kurdish areas of Syria. Nearly 250 of them have been completely destroyed.
Hussein Bakir is a resident of Jindires. He recounted the moment his house collapsed.
“We noticed it [earthquake] from the beginning. I took the children to the yard and then we saw stones falling until the building collapsed. My car had fallen under the rubble. This is our condition,” he told Rudaw on Saturday.
He added that the building has four floors, with about 25 of its residents dying from the quake.
Amina Omar is 70 years old. She told Rudaw that no one helps her town, and that she has no place to live in after losing his house.
“I initially stayed on the street and then stayed in the houses of neighbours for two days. Our house has been destroyed,” she said.
Rashid Mohammed, 13, is also a resident of Jindires. He said tens of his neighbors died after their buildings collapsed.
“People send aid to Jindires but they [authorities] do not allow it in, instead stealing it. They take a few photos with the aid and then leave,” he said when asked if they received any humanitarian aid.
About 520 bodies have been recovered from the rubble in the town.