A view of damaged buildings in the area under rebel control of Jandaris, in Syria (REUTERS / Khalil Ashawi)
Monday’s deadly earthquake has left millions of people homeless in Turkey and Syria in the dead of winter, aid organizations say, with survivors finding shelter in temporary shelters amid freezing temperatures.
In Syria alone, approximately 5.37 million people will need housing assistance, according to a preliminary estimate by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees,
There are still glimmers of hope for the survivors under the rubble. On the fifth day since the earthquake, teams were able to rescue a mother and her two daughters, as well as another family of six in Turkey. But the pace of bailouts has slowed.
Meanwhile, families are grieving as they begin to bury their loved ones. Salma Salazar, who lost family members to her, told CNN that his family is “very heartbroken.”
This is what you need to know:
An unprecedented earthquake: Monday’s disaster was the deadliest earthquake to hit Turkey in more than 80 years. The earthquake has killed more than 23,000 people, more than those who died in the Fukushima disaster in Japan in 2011.
Government intervention: Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday that the country’s government will pay citizens’ rent for a year if they do not want to stay in tents. He also promised sanctions for those involved in crimes during the declared state of emergency. He has denounced attacks on businesses and robberies in the regions affected by the earthquake. Turkey’s Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag said on Friday that judicial investigations have been launched for builders in the quake-hit regions, according to Turkey’s state media Anadolu.
Relief Efforts: Erdogan said that more than 141,000 rescue personnel are working on the ground in 10 earthquake-affected provinces in Turkey. And according to the White House, the United States will “increase” its assistance to Turkey and Syria.
But in Syria, President Bashar al-Assad on Friday criticized Western countries for “disregarding the human condition.” His comment is in line with statements heard from Syrian government officials and state media, who attributed the lack of humanitarian aid and rescue team hampered by sanctions from the United States and the European Union. On Friday, the Syrian government approved the shipment of aid to rebel-held territory in the country’s northwest, but the aid group International Organization for Migration tells CNN they have not received specific details from officials about the announcement.