The United Nations said it was preparing to end the search for earthquake survivors and move on to responding to other urgent humanitarian needs.
| An earthquake victim in Turkey is removed from the rubble. Image: Archyde.com. |
Theo Archyde.comby February 13, the number of people killed in the earthquake on February 6 had exceeded 37,000.
Turkey was the worst-hit country with about 32,000 deaths. In Syria, the death toll in the disaster is about 5,000 people.
International aid organizations agree that the death toll will continue to rise after the missing are found beneath the rubble.
The UN’s humanitarian official said the phase of rescuing earthquake survivors is coming to an end.
“The phase of getting survivors out of the rubble, searching for the dead underneath the rubble, is coming to an end. Now is the time for the humanitarian phase to respond to the urgent need for shelter, care, and support. health care, food, schools,” said United Nations Under-Secretary-General Martin Griffiths.
Over the next few days, the United Nations will step up efforts to mobilize aid to meet the humanitarian needs of both Turkey and Syria over the next three months.
The United Nations also said it would be involved in coordinating humanitarian aid to areas currently under rebel control in northern Syria. Previously, the area received almost no humanitarian aid due to the armed conflict between the Syrian government and the rebels.