This is a very brief article, and thus will require a slightly more brief analysis. This is sort of a follow up to a previous article that was run by MSNBC about the earthquake that happened in the Van province of Turkey a few weeks ago.
Two weeks ago there was a 7.2 magnitude earthquake that struck an area of this province and 600 people were killed. This quake, while only a 5.7 magnitude essentially finished off what the other earthquake failed to destroy in the first place.
This isn't even what is significant about this hazard event though. Upon further investigation I was able to find out that while this earthquake affected people on a physical level, they were also hit religiously if you will. This image that was used in a Turkish newspaper displays the religious divide that this earthquake has in turn caused.
There are also added problems regarding disaster mitigation. This province is home to many Muslims who identify themselves as Kurds, who are currently unhappy with the conditions of the current government. Various factions within the Kurdish sect have been staging riots, and occasionally killing public and government employees (soldiers and police officers). But when these earthquakes hit, these radical groups cry for help from no one other than the government. Because of the tensions shared between those two organizations, the disaster relief effort is virtually non-existant, with only a percentage of the required aid being delivered. A writer for the Foreign Policy Journal notes that usually when disasters happen people come together and rally for the good of those who have been affected, regardless of prior conflicts or tension. This does not seem to be the case in Turkey and it will be interesting to see how this develops now that the severity of the disaster has increased.
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