Tornado strikes quake-torn Kahramanmaraş, kills two people

Fırat Bulut / Gazete Duvar

The storm that was effective at noon on April in the Pazarcık district of quake-torn Kahramanmaraş turned into a tornado. Two people lost their lives, and at least 46 people were injured when the tornado hit the tents and containers where earthquake victims were staying. 

Main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) MP Ali Öztunç said the roofs of heavily damaged buildings flew off and fell on the tent cities. He said, "I am at the scene right now. There are casualties and injured people. The tornado happened all of a sudden. The roofs of heavily damaged buildings fell on tent cities 200-300 meters away. Many trees fell down, and cars were damaged.”

Öztunç said that the Ankara Metropolitan Municipality has started to rebuild the damaged tents and that earthquake victims are currently staying outside.

Green Left Party (YSP) Party member Erhan Yapıcı stated that hundreds of tents have become unusable. Yapıcı stated that YSP has formed a crisis desk in the region and added, "The situation is very bad. People had taken shelter in tents, and now they lost their beds, blankets, and living materials in the tents.” He stated that they are bringing new tents to the region to distribute to those in need as soon as possible.

Yapıcı stated that the tornado created an impact just like the earthquake and created more serious damages in the province heavily impacted by the Feb. 6 earthquakes. 

On April 5, Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu announced that 2.6 million quake victims were living in tents in the provinces affected by the quakes.