Archive for category: Blog

Turkey: CMAT stands down deployment after Turkish PM announces no need for international assistance.

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Tuesday, October 25, 2011 – In the immediate aftermath of Sunday’s earthquake, the Turkish government and local NGOs swiftly took action, and dispatched aid material and domestic personnel to the affected region.

The country has substantial experience of delivering relief after quakes and has declined international aid. Officials now say they are in urgent need of housing. Some 2,000 homes have been destroyed. The death toll from the disaster stands at 459 people, with some 1,352 others injured.

The Deputy PM Besir Atalay, who is coordinating the government’s response at the quake zone in Van province, said tents were being assembled and food distributed as part of a major relief and rescue operation. He said that rescue teams have reached all the villages in the earthquake affected area. Most of the districts of Van and Ercis have now reestablished electricity and phone lines back to normal, and added that all other services will soon be reestablished.

Dozens of aftershocks over 5 magnitude were reported. According to media reports, residents spent the night outdoors and lit campfires, while the Turkish Red Crescent began to set up tents in a stadium and provide other supplies to Van from their logistics depots in various neighbouring provinces in the region. Others sought shelter with relatives in nearby villages.

The Turkish Red Crescent and the military are playing leading roles in the provision of the emergency relief. The Turkish military assigned three cargo planes for use by AFAD to transport relief aid. The Turkish military also dispatched to the region five battalions including rescue teams. Psychosocial and social support services have been assigned through the Governor of Van.

The Ministry of Health is also present in the region with ambulance planes, personnel and field hospitals, and other medical supplies. Two field hospitals in Van and two field hospitals in Ercis were erected.

In light of the Turkish government’s announcement, CMAT has decided to stand down a potential deployment to Turkey, and encourages donors to support the Red Cross and Red Crescent efforts in the region.

Canadian Red Cross Society – Turkey Earthquake

 

Turkey: Eastern city of Van hit by 7.2 magnitude quake

Courtesy BBC News.

Sunday, October 23, 2011 – A 7.2-magnitude earthquake has hit eastern Turkey, causing deaths and injuries as buildings collapsed. The quake hit just north-east of the city of Van, where Anatolia news agency said at least 50 people were injured. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s office said there had been damage and deaths in Van but gave no firm figure. Turkey is particularly vulnerable to earthquakes because it sits on major geological fault lines. Turkey’s Anatolia news agency reported that rescue workers were searching the wreckage of a seven-storey building in the city for people thought to be trapped in the rubble. It said 50 people had been taken to hospital in Van with injuries.

Deputy Prime Minister Besir Atalay said 10 buildings had collapsed in Van and 25-30 had collapsed in the nearby town of Ercis, Reuters news agency reported. In Van, local official Veysel Keser said: “Many multi-floor buildings, hotels and a dormitory were collapsed.” “We can hear voices from the collapsed buildings,” AFP news agency quoted him as saying.

The USGS has revised the depth of the quake from 7.2 km (4.5 miles) to 20 km (12.4 miles), which is still relatively shallow and has the potential to cause damage. Within one hour, two more aftershocks of magnitue 5.6 struck the same region.

CMAT continues to monitor the progress through its contacts in the United Nations and other partners, and is assessing the need to deploy an assessment team to the middle eastern nation.

 

Japan Earthquake and Tsunami – Six Months On….

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Our fantastic Japanese in-country volunteers!!! — L-R Rear: Yasushi Sato, Motoaki Ishii, Sosha Smith, Valerie Rzepka, L-R Front: Umi-San, Kana Kobori, and Seiko Watanabe.

Our fantastic Japanese in-country volunteers!!! — L-R Rear: Yasushi Sato, Motoaki Ishii, Sosha Smith, Valerie Rzepka, L-R Front: Umi-San, Kana Kobori, and Seiko Watanabe.

Sunday, September 11, 2011 – Six months ago, on March 11, 2011 a massive earthquake struck off the coast of northern Japan. The earthquake and tsunami that followed caused the death of at least 24,000 people and set off a nuclear crisis which was as confusing as it was frightening. Four months later, CMAT Chair Valerie Rzepka, and CMAT Volunteer Seiko Watanabe returned to Japan to retrieve CMAT equipment which will no longer be needed, and to acknowledge and thank CMAT’s Japanese in-country volunteers. Here are their impressions:

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Canada – Magnitude-6.7 quake recorded off Vancouver Island

Friday, September 9, 2011 – VICTORIA — A magnitude-6.7 earthquake has struck off the coast of Vancouver Island. The United States Geological Survey recorded the quake at 12:41 p.m. local time. A map on the geological survey’s website puts the epicentre just off the west coast of Vancouver Island, south of Port Hardy. The quake was recorded at a depth of 80 kilometres.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre has posted an information bulletin that says no tsunami is expected. Many CMAT Members live on Vancouver Island, including two directors of the CMAT Board. More information will be posted as needed, or when it becomes available.

Through generous donors, CMAT is helping to provide purified drinking water in Japan.

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A curious little guy makes a close inspection of the new equipment.

A curious little guy makes a close inspection of the new equipment.

Friday, April 1, 2011 – Kitakamicho Aikawa, Japan: Together with local authorities in Japan, CMAT team members successfully installed a Nomad water purification unit in the small fishing village.

The purchase of this portable water purification system manufactured by Noah Water Systems was made possible through the generous support of our donors, especially the Lotus Light Charity Society from Vancouver. The unit is capable of producing 25 gallons / 95 litres per minute or 36,000 gallons / 136,800 liters per day. The Nomad will satisfy the need for large volumes of safe drinking water using any fresh water source: well, lake, river, stream, and pond and even polluted floodwaters.
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