Turkish Academic Recalls Pain, Solidarity In Aftermath Of Twin Quakes

A Turkish academic caught up in the Feb. 6 earthquakes with his family in Türkiye's southern Gaziantep province has recalled the devastating moments of the disaster in which nearly 49,000 people were killed across 11 provinces.

"I felt the earthquake first. My wife was asleep and I didn't want to wake her up thinking that the earthquake would stop," said Dr. Recep Sehitoglu, who teaches at the Gaziantep University.

He said his wife, Gulser Sehitoglu, also witnessed the 7.4 magnitude 1999 earthquake in Bolu province, and was already traumatized due to the disaster.

"She has obviously some uneasiness left over from that earthquake. Therefore, the moment she hears the word 'earthquake', she panics," Sehitoglu said.

And, like any parent, his two children, who are four and seven years old, came to his mind first, and he rushed to the kids' room.

"Even if the building was to be collapsed due to the earthquake, I thought we needed to be in the same spot as a family," he said.

Sehitoglu vividly remembers how everyone who poured onto the streets after the unprecedented tremors was in shock and engulfed in fear.

Right after the earthquakes, Sehitoglu drove his family and parents-in-law to his wife's village in Bolu, and returned to Gaziantep to help the earthquake victims.

He is thankful to his wife for encouraging him to rush to help of the afflicted.

By hitchhiking from Bolu to Gaziantep, Sehitoglu joined efforts to help the victims with the staff of his university, which has hosted thousands of quake victims.

"We opened the doors of our university to everyone at that time," he said, adding that recreation, indoor areas and swimming pool at the campus were all home to the survivors. In that state of chaos, the afflicted were hungry and in their pajamas, he said, describing the tragic moments.

More than 49,500 people were killed in Türkiye by magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 quakes that hit on Feb. 6, according to officials.

Over 13.5 million people have been affected in Türkiye by the massive quakes which struck the provinces of Kahramanmaras, Hatay, Gaziantep, Adiyaman, Malatya, Adana, Diyarbakir, Kilis, Osmaniye, Sanliurfa, and Elazig. -