The toll of the violent earthquake that occurred Monday in Turkey and Syria amounts to 33,179 dead, according to the latest official figures released on Sunday, February 12.
The 7.8 magnitude earthquake killed 29,605 people in southern Turkey, Turkey’s public disaster management agency AFAD said on Sunday, while authorities counted 3,574 dead in Syria. According to the UN, this assessment might « doubler ».
Humanitarian organizations are particularly worried regarding the spread of cholera, which has reappeared in Syria. Damascus authorized on Friday “the delivery of humanitarian aid to the whole” of the country, including rebel-held areas.
Visiting Kahramanmaras, a devastated Turkish town, Martin Griffiths, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, said on Saturday that the balance sheet might “ more than double ». “We haven’t really started counting the number of dead yet. (…) Soon the people in charge of search and rescue will give way to the humanitarian agencies whose job it will be to take care of the extraordinary number of people affected over the next few months.he added.
Rescue workers threatened
Nearly 32,000 Turkish rescuers and 8,000 foreigners are mobilized in Turkey, according to the agency responsible for natural disasters. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates the number of victims at 26 million, including ” regarding five million vulnerable people “. On Saturday, it launched an urgent appeal to collect 42.8 million dollars (40 million euros).
Israeli relief NGO United Hatzalah announced on Sunday it was halting operations in Turkey due to a “serious threat” for the safety of his team on site. The organization announced in a press release its decision to “complete his mission and return to Israel as soon as possible”. “We have unfortunately received intelligence of a concrete and immediate threat once morest the Israeli delegation and we must prioritize the safety of our personnel”explains the NGO.
The Austrian army and a German association had temporarily taken a similar decision. The Austrian army suspended its rescue operations in Turkey for a few hours on Saturday, citing “the security situation” on the spot. “There have been attacks between groups”, an army spokesman in Vienna told Agence France-Presse (AFP), without further details. Saturday followingnoon, two Austrian dog handlers were able to resume the search “under the protection of the Turkish army”according to an army spokesman in Vienna.
