According to the authorities, the death toll in the devastating earthquakes in Turkey and Syria has reached nearly 20,000, while tens of thousands of others have been injured. This is much higher than the 1999 earthquake of the same magnitude of 7.8 in northwestern Turkey that killed 17,000 people.
Many people in Turkey and Syria spent the third night sleeping outside or in their cars in the cold winter weather. Homes destroyed or damaged by the earthquake make them too afraid to re-enter:
– “Now we have 4 families in this car. Thank god we’re still alive, but the houses are now uninhabitable. It’s not just us, but the whole neighborhood we live in is like that.”
“My family’s house has collapsed. Now we have to stay in the car and have nowhere else to go.”
Authorities say regarding 6,500 buildings in Turkey have collapsed and countless others damaged in the quake zone, home to regarding 13 million people. Rescuers are racing once morest time to rescue survivors in the harsh winter weather conditions.
The situation is particularly worrying in Syria, which has been grappling with a humanitarian crisis for years due to conflict and an outbreak of cholera. On February 9, the third day following the earthquake occurred, the first aid convoy was able to reach the northwestern part of Syria controlled by the opposition.
The United Nations on Monday stressed the need to avoid “politicizing” aid to earthquake victims in Syria, and urged the United States and the European Union to ensure aid work “without hindrance.” what a shame”.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres emphasized: “The center of solidarity must be directed to those who are suffering greatly. The earthquake occurred as the humanitarian crisis in the northwestern region of Syria has reached the end. worsened, with the need for humanitarian assistance at its highest level since the outbreak of conflict, and the United Nations has gone to great lengths to respond.
We are deploying experts to the area to assess disasters, coordinate search and rescue operations, and provide food, medical supplies, warm blankets and other lifesaving supplies. And we’re committed to doing more.”
The United Nations said it has disbursed $25 million from the Emergency Fund and is expected to launch a call for emergency assistance to Syria early next week. Meanwhile, the European Union plans to hold an international donor conference to assist Turkey and Syria in recovering from the earthquake.
