Just back from a mission to Turkey, UNICEF Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia, Afshan Khan, lamented that more than two weeks following the earthquake in Turkey and Syria, the scale of the devastation is nothing short of catastrophic.
“Children have witnessed death and destruction in southeastern Türkiye and in Syria. Worlds have been shattered. They need our continued support,” did she say.
Seventeen days following the earthquakes reduced buildings to rubble, thousands of families in Kahramanmaras, one of the 11 worst affected provinces, are still crammed into shelters and temporary accommodation. Families are still taking refuge in cars, bus stations, under bridges and in makeshift tents.
Children and families who survived the earthquakes are now homeless, lack food and water, and temperatures regularly drop below freezing at night. More than a million people are housed in temporary shelters – gymnasiums, stadiums, hotels and dormitories – with limited access to essential services.
20,000 Syrian refugees returned to their country
According to the UN official, “Children in Turkey are at risk of developing anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. They must be able to resume their education and urgently need psychosocial support to help them overcome the trauma they have suffered”.
Among those affected by the earthquakes are some of the 800,000 Syrian refugee children. In this regard, UNICEF notes that the education of nearly 4 million children, including more than 350,000 refugees and migrants, is in danger, due to the overwhelming number of damaged or destroyed schools.
In this context, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) indicates that more than 20,000 Syrian refugees have returned to their country following the earthquake. This figure mainly represents temporary exits to Syria, mainly to check on family and attend burials and funerals, UNHCR said.
Millions of tons of rubble
In addition, the first estimates of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) show that the disaster generated between 116 and 210 million tons of rubble. For comparison, the Marmara earthquake in 1999 generated around 13 million tons of rubble.
“While supporting the emergency response, we envision the massive effort that will be required to restore normal life in the region. Clearing the rubble is a vital first step, but we must show reverence for the human lives and dreams that lie buried,” said Louisa Vinton, UNDP Resident Representative in Turkey, in a statement.
For the UN agency, the scale of the challenge is almost ” incomprehensible ».
Louisa Vinton, in this sense, underlined that “To help visualize the total volume of what needs to be removed, imagine a 10km by 10km area covered in debris piled one meter high. Considered in this way, the estimated debris area – 100 km² – is larger than Manhattan, which covers 59 km²”.
