Demirkoprü cut in two, crossed by a fault

Published

Video length: 2 min.

FRANCE 2

Article written by

A.Lay, E.Sizarols, M.Cevik, E.Noel – France 2

France Televisions

If a large part of eastern Turkey was devastated by the earthquake of February 6, the village of Demirkoprü was literally cut in two, crossed by a gigantic fault.

A deep, gaping and continuous fault over 300 kilometers from Turkey to Syria. A canyon 30 meters deep that went so far as to cut the village of Demirkoprü in two. A father cries every day after his house fell into the gigantic ditch. “We fled in one direction, it tore there, we fled in another, it tore again. The fault constantly caught up with us”he recalls.

Many buildings did not have building permits

Along the fault, a dozen other houses were swallowed up. Part of the school no longer exists, the cobblestones of the old playground were lifted by the power of the earthquake. However, the mayor of the village was aware of the risks involved. “80% of the buildings destroyed during the earthquake did not have a building permit. We knew it but we did not take the necessary measures”says Husiyin Sahan. Demirkoprü should now be rebuilt a few kilometers away, in the mountains.


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