Hundreds Feared Dead in Turkey After Massive Earthquake

"Turkey experienced a massive 7.2 magnitude earthquake Sunday.

Very sad news out of Turkey this morning. Dozens of buildings collapsed in a 7.2 magnitude earthquake in Van province in Turkey. Officials are estimating up to one thousand deaths though no official death toll has been released. "The quake was strongly felt in Van and neighboring towns, and caused damage and deaths based on initial assessments," the prime minister's office said.

The USGS originally gave the magnitude as 7.3 but later corrected it to 7.2. It said the quake had a depth of 12.4 miles, which is relatively shallow and could potentially cause more damage. The quake's epicenter was in the village of Tabanli in eastern Van province, bordering Iran. It was felt in north west Iran, causing some panic in major cities, Iranian media reported, but without any mention of casualties or damage.

This news is close on the heels of another recent tragedy in Turkey, when Kurdish gunmen killed 24 Turkish soldiers in attacks on border posts in that country. The two events should both be seen as national security issues. In this country, we are more likely to suffer a natural disaster such as an earthquake than we are to suffer an attack. Ensuring that we have the proper funding for detection of and response to natural disasters is vital for our national security. Recent GOP budget proposals have suggested cuts to the USGS, FEMA, and other agencies responsible for ensuring that natural disasters do the least damage as possible. Perhaps if we viewed these as national security concerns, such budget cuts would not be countenanced. In Turkey, meanwhile, countries such as Israel have offered aid to assist in the aftermath of the quake. The United States is inevitably at the forefront of any global relief efforts - attempts to slash our foreign aid budget notwithstanding. Foreign aid is also a national security issue, serving as an important humanitarian diplomacy.