In freezing cold, rescuers continued to race once morest time on Wednesday February 8 to try to rescue survivors of the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck Monday February 6 at dawn, and which affected southeastern Turkey and Syria. Turkey’s interior minister warned on Tuesday that the next 48 hours would be “crucial” to find possible survivors while the toll continues to grow, now exceeding 11,700 dead.
International aid has started to arrive in Turkey, where national mourning has been declared for seven days. The death toll there stood at 9,057 on Wednesday followingnoon. This is already the worst death toll that Turkey has known since the 1999 earthquake, when 17,000 people died, including one. thousand in Istanbul.
In Syria, 2,662 deaths have been recorded at this stage. The balance sheet should “climb considerably, as hundreds of people remain trapped under the rubble”according to the White Helmets (civil protection volunteers) in the rebel areas.
Twitter was unreachable on Turkey’s main mobile phone providers on Wednesday amid growing online criticism of the government’s response to the earthquake that struck its country and Syria.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has acknowledged “shortcomings” in the response to the earthquake. “It is impossible to be prepared for such a disaster”he said from the province of Hatay (south), one of the most affected, on the Syrian border. “A few dishonest people (…) published false statements such as ‘we did not see any soldiers or police'” in this province, denounced Mr. Erdogan, adding that 21,000 relief personnel had been deployed in Hatay. “We will respond to the disaster in such a way that no one is left under the ruins and no one suffers,” he promised four months before the presidential election.
“Any help needed, whatever it is”
The first teams of foreign rescue workers arrived on Tuesday. According to Mr. Erdogan, who declared a state of emergency for three months in the ten provinces affected by the earthquake, forty-five countries offered their help.
The European Union (EU) has mobilized 1,185 rescue workers and 79 search dogs for Turkey from nineteen Member States. For Syria, the EU is in contact with its humanitarian partners on the ground and funds aid operations.
The EU will organize a donors’ conference in early March to mobilize international funds to help the two countries, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced on Wednesday. “Turkey and Syria can count on the EU”, tweeted European manager. This conference, organized in coordination with the Turkish authorities, “will be open to EU member states, neighboring countries, UN members” and financial institutions, according to the Commission.
The President of the United States, Joe Biden, promised the Turkish head of state “all the help needed, whatever it is”. Two teams of rescuers were to arrive Wednesday morning on site. China announced Tuesday the sending of aid of 5.9 million dollars (5.50 million euros) as well as specialized rescuers in urban areas, medical teams and emergency equipment. Even Ukraine, despite the invasion of its territory by Russia, announced the dispatch to Turkey of 87 rescue workers.
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The United Arab Emirates pledged $100 million in aid, and Saudi Arabia, which has had no ties to the Damascus regime since 2012, announced an airlift to help to affected populations in both countries.
“Horrible conditions that are getting worse”
In Syria, however, the appeal launched by the authorities in Damascus was mainly heard by its Russian ally. According to the army, more than 300 Russian soldiers are already on the scene to help the relief. On Tuesday, Washington said it was working with local NGOs in Syria, insisting that its “funds will of course go to the Syrian people, not to the regime [de Damas] ».
At a press conference, Robert Holden, in charge of earthquake response at the World Health Organization (WHO), explained that the immediate objective was to save lives but that“at the same time, it is imperative to ensure that those who survived the initial disaster continue to survive”.
Humanitarian organizations are particularly worried regarding the spread of the cholera epidemic, which has reappeared in Syria. “There are many people who survived and are now in the open in horrific and worsening conditions”underlined Mr. Holden, specifying that the supply of water, fuel and electricity, and communications, are seriously disrupted.
The quake hit the Bab Al-Hawa crossing point, the only one for almost all humanitarian aid to rebel areas in Syria from Turkey, according to the UN. The Syrian Red Crescent, which operates in government areas, called on the EU to lift sanctions once morest Damascus.
