Turkey: Earthquake In Erzincan

For residents of the Turkish city of Erzincan (pop. 150,000), death visited with savage abruptness at 7:20 p.m. last Friday. An earthquake that registered at least 6.2 on the Richter scale leveled 200 buildings, leaving more than 500 people dead -- the toll could climb well past 1,000 -- and at least 2,000 injured. "All of a sudden I saw the wall coming down and the city swinging like a cradle," said Ahmet Elden, whose wife and four children were trapped in their wrecked apartment. "I can still hear the cries of my son calling for me."

The temblor that convulsed eastern Turkey was the country's most powerful since a 1983 quake that snuffed out 1,330 lives. In less than a minute, it leveled a quarter of Erzincan's center and reverberated across two neighboring provinces. By morning, rescue officials had dispatched tents, blankets and heavy equipment to aid the frightened survivors. Many had spent the night outdoors in subzero cold rather than wager against the earth's caprice.