How long can people survive under rubble after an earthquake?
Turkey-Syria earthquake: Death toll tops 12,000, rescue efforts continue | LiveNOW from FOX
The earthquake in Turkey and Syria has killed more than 12,000 people, making it the deadliest seismic event in more than a decade. More than 30,000 people have been injured from the Monday morning 7.8 magnitude earthquake, and the death toll is expected to continue to rise as rescue workers search for survivors underneath the rubble. More LiveNOW from FOX streaming video
How long can trapped people survive in the rubble of an earthquake?
Up to a week or more, experts say, but it depends on their injuries, how they are trapped and weather conditions.
Search teams from around the world have joined local emergency personnel in Turkey and Syria to look for victims from this week's devastating earthquake that has killed thousands.
FILE - A man is rescued from under rubble 62 hours after 7.7 and 7.6 magnitude earthquakes hit Turkiye's multiple provinces including Antakya district of central Hatay on Feb. 08, 2023. (Sergen Sezgin/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Most rescues occur in the first 24 hours after a disaster. After that, survival chances drop as each day passes, experts say. Many victims are badly injured or buried by falling stones or other debris.
Access to water and air to breathe are crucial factors, along with weather. Wintry conditions in Syria and Turkey have hampered rescue efforts and temperatures have dipped well below freezing.
"Typically, it is rare to find survivors after the fifth to seventh days, and most search and rescue teams will consider stopping by then,'' said Dr. Jarone Lee, an emergency and disaster medicine expert at Massachusetts General Hospital. "But, there are many stories of people surviving well past the seven-day mark. Unfortunately, these are usually rare and extraordinary cases.''
FILE - 60-year-old Abo Hamza Damlahy is rescued from under rubble 62 hours after 7.7 and 7.6 magnitude earthquakes hit Turkiye's multiple provinces including Antakya district of central Hatay on Feb. 08, 2023. (Sergen Sezgin/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
People with traumatic injuries, including crush injuries and limb amputations, face the most critical survival window, said Dr. George Chiampas, an emergency medicine specialist at Northwestern University’s Feinberg medical school.
"If you don’t pull them out in one hour, in that golden hour, there’s really a very low chance of survival,’’ he said.
Those with other illnesses, whose health depends on medications, also face grim chances, Chiampas said.
FILE - A man walks past collapsed buildings on Feb. 08, 2023, in Hatay, Turkey. (Burak Kara/Getty Images)
Age, physical and mental condition are all critical.
"You see a lot of different scenarios where we’ve had some really miraculous saves and people have survived under horrible conditions.," said Dr. Christopher Colwell, an emergency medicine specialists at the University of California, San Francisco. "They tend to be younger people and have been fortunate enough to find either a pocket in the rubble or some way to access needed elements like air and water.''
After the 2011 Japan earthquake and tsunami, a teenager and his 80-year-old grandmother were found alive after nine days trapped in their flattened home. The year before, a 16-year-old Haitian girl was rescued from earthquake rubble in Port-Au-Prince after 15 days.
Mental state can also affect survival. People trapped next to bodies, who have no contact with other survivors or rescuers, may give up hope, Chiampas noted.
"If you have someone who is alive, you’re leaning on each other to keep fighting,’’ he said.
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AP video journalist Angie Wang contributed to this story.