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Earthquakes in Turkey and Syria

A double whammy of destruction.

An earthquake in the early morning when darkness still drapes a city can be hugely disorienting to everyone involved in feeling he shaking and then for those who respond. Turkey and Syria both had such an earthquake, see Powerful quake kills more than 1,800 people in Turkey and Syria

The death toll has been going up with every announcement from governments. There certainly will be many more deaths recorded in the coming hours and days as bodies are recovered from the rubble of buildings that pancaked in the earthquake.

People have a huge desire to help and early videos of rescues shows average citizens with flashlights looking around in the rubble and then sometimes scores of rescuers working at a building site. A collapsed building is a very dangerous place to be, that was totally accented by the second significant earthquake that followed the first.

I remember at the Oklahoma City Bombing, a nurse trying to help at the site was killed by falling debris. It was mentioned in a debrief about the rescue efforts that everyone was pulled back from the building and they used that time to become better organized. The scenes at these sites do look pretty chaotic with many people individually trying to do what they can.

The cold temperatures are another factor there in that region. We should celebrate every person who is rescued, knowing that the child might now be an orphan going forward. The rescue is only the first step and we don't know what injuries are covered by any blankets.

A reminder for everyone, our turn will come. Not every building in America can withstand a powerful earthquake and we will be tested at some point in the future. I call earthquakes, "Come as you are disasters." You are either ready or not.
Eric Holdeman is a contributing writer for Emergency Management magazine and is the former director of the King County, Wash., Office of Emergency Management.