Turkey and Syria are in their third night of searching through the rubble for quake survivors. How to deal with this disaster? Turkey and its citizens have long experience in the sudden tragedy that comes with living on two fault lines. In Monday's earthquakes, structures new and ancient tumbled alike. How best to get to those still alive under the rubble?
Over in northern Syria, 12 years of civil war are amplifying the disaster, with neglected infrastructure particularly vulnerable and aid even slower to arrive, particularly to rebel-held areas. Should the Turkish border be opened? Should foreign aid transit through under-sanctions Damascus?
It is too soon to appraise how this natural disaster will change the course of international relations or the outcome of Turkish elections this spring, but crisis management will certainly be under scrutiny. And in a nation where the last quake of this magnitude dates back to the rise to power of the incumbent, voters will ask if the lessons of 1999 have been learned.
Produced by Charles Wente, Juliette Laurain and Imen Mellaz.
