Hundreds of people in eastern Turkey have been sheltering in tents after a deadly earthquake left many homeless and exposed the region's poor construction standards. Recep Akdag, the health minister, said the mud-brick homes typical of Turkey'simpoverished villages "topple down at the slightest of jolts, and those caught beneath die from lack of air". "It has been this way for a hundred years, and we have to beat this," he said on Tuesday. At least 51 people were killed in the 6.0 magnitude quake early on Monday in six villages near the town of Kovancilar in Elazig province. "The number of deaths is related directly to the construction quality," Okan Tuysuz, a geologists from Istanbul University, said. "Unfortunately, Turkey is a country poorly prepared for earthquakes in terms of building quality."
Hundreds of people in eastern Turkey have been sheltering in tents after a deadly earthquake left many homeless and exposed the region's poor construction standards.
Recep Akdag, the health minister, said the mud-brick homes typical of Turkey'simpoverished villages "topple down at the slightest of jolts, and those caught beneath die from lack of air".
"It has been this way for a hundred years, and we have to beat this," he said on Tuesday.
At least 51 people were killed in the 6.0 magnitude quake early on Monday in six villages near the town of Kovancilar in Elazig province.
"The number of deaths is related directly to the construction quality," Okan Tuysuz, a geologists from Istanbul University, said.
"Unfortunately, Turkey is a country poorly prepared for earthquakes in terms of building quality."
