Authorities in Syria’s Kobani record 250 damaged buildings from quake
KOBANI, Syria (North Press) – An official in the Chamber of Engineers in the city of Kobani, northern Syria, said on Wednesday they have recorded 250 buildings sustained damages in the Feb. 6 earthquake.
Shakheda Muhammad, co-chair of the Chamber of Engineers, told North Press that committees they have formed to assess extent of earthquakes’ damage detected 250 affected buildings, including six uninhabitable ones, in Kobani and its countryside.
On Feb. 8, the Chamber formed three committees of five engineers each to check on the safety of buildings in the region after the earthquakes and raise residents’ awareness against cracked structures.
On Feb.20 at 20:04 local time, a new 6.4 magnitude earthquake hit Turkey and Syria with Iskenderun being the epicenter and was felt in Lebanon, Syria, Palestine and Antakya in southern Turkey.
At dawn on Feb. 6, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit Syria and Turkey, killing tens of thousands and injuring many more. The earthquake also caused immense destruction of buildings, trapping thousands under the rubble.
The Chamber have received 280 complaints on which it responded, in cooperation with Kobani Municipality and the Local Administration and Environment Board, by inspecting the affected buildings and provide solutions for those that were slightly harmed, Muhammad added.
Approximately 50 per cent of the buildings were inspected and most of them were slightly damaged and do not need to be removed, she noted.
Only ten per cent of the buildings sustained significant damage, according to the co-chair.
She also pointed out that the Chamber of Engineers will hold a meeting with the municipality and the Local Administration and Environment Board in the Euphrates Region to decide whether to find a mechanism to support the greatly damaged buildings or remove them.
The committees also inspected schools, kindergartens and mosques in the city.
Schools and kindergartens are safe, but the Big Mosque in al-Sheikh Sarhad neighborhood was greatly damaged, according to the co-chair.