Monitor: World press comment on the implications of the earthquake in Turkey

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THE NUMBER of dead and injured, already counted in the thousands, will surely rise in the days ahead as debris is cleared. After the earthquakes of recent years in San Francisco and Los Angeles, we all know the grim routine - the probing under rubble, the almost delicate demolition of abruptly collapsed buildings and bridges, the stories of unexpected, unimaginable survival and the stories that end in ways that are equally unimaginable. What follows now, too, is a temporary form of co-operation among nations and aid groups that cannot be reproduced except in crisis of this sort. Turkey will need billions of dollars in emergency financial assistance, extensive medical aid - including field hospitals - and specialized rescue equipment.

The New York Times

APART FROM highlighting the short-term relief measures which should immediately be organised by the rest of the world for extending relief to the stricken people, the havoc provides an occasion for initiating long-term measures for management of a disaster of this kind. In spite of the substantial gains to the knowledge which make earthquake prediction possible and the delineation of territory lying on a geological faultline, there have been no measures for warning people and moving them to safety in time. There has to be a greater resolve at making the preparatory measures for earthquake management effective.

The Hindu

THE HARD job will begin once the aftershocks cease, as Turkey awakens to the magnitude of rebuilding its most crowded urban areas. Turkey must replace an entire urban infrastructure: multi-family apartments, hospitals, schools, factories, highways, communications systems, refineries, electrical plants. The goal should be not just to replace Turkey's huge material loss, but to make the country safer and stronger economically. The government of Turkey, meanwhile, will need to show more respect for strong civil institutions during this long rebuilding period.

St Petersburg Times