AANES in Syria’s Manbij urge evacuation of affected buildings
MANBIJ, Syria (North Press) – The Manbij Engineers Federation, affiliated with the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES), said on Wednesday that they formed committees consisting of engineers of various specialties to assess and evaluate the safety of damaged buildings.
The committees will inform the residents whether their buildings are safe or not and provide solutions for at-risk structures.
On Monday at 4:17 am, Syria and Turkey were rocked by a 7.8-magnitude earthquake whose epicenter was located near Gaziantep, southern Turkey, and killed thousands of people in the both countries.
Hundreds are believed to still be trapped under the rubble of the collapsed buildings in both countries.
Several buildings in Manbij were damaged by the destructive earthquake that hit Turkey and northwest Syria, causing the partial collapse of some buildings and cracks in others.
Ismail Qatwan, co-chair of the Manbij Engineers Federation, said they are assessing the damage to the buildings in the city and alerting citizens to evacuate if necessary.
He added that they had formed groups and had canvassed the city in order to raise awareness of the dangers of living in houses with cracked or partially collapsed walls.
The Federation distributed phone numbers to residents which they can call if they suspect that a damaged building may be at risk of collapse. In that case, the Federation will send an engineering team to assess the integrity of the structure, according to Qatwan.
He noted that the initiative is ongoing and will cover the entire city. “We are ready to immediately address any emergency in any residential building in the city to provide solutions for structural safety in cooperation with the municipality of Manbij,” he added.