Antakya: the death toll from the February 6 earthquake that devastated the southern part turkey And the escalation continues in northern Syria. As the chances of finding more survivors dwindled, the few foreign search teams that had arrived to help began to leave.
Here’s a look at Thursday’s major developments in the aftermath of the quake:
UN appeals for $1 billion for Turkey
The United Nations has launched an appeal for $1 billion for humanitarian agencies in Turkey to help the millions affected by the earthquake.
A UN statement said funding from the appeal would target 5.2 million people, with resources going to aid organizations “to support government-led response efforts in areas including food security, safety, education, water and shelter”. to rapidly increase its operations.”
United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Martin Griffiths said the people of Turkey were experiencing “unspeakable heartache”. Griffith toured devastated areas of the country last week.
“I met with families who shared their stories of shock and devastation. We should stand by them in their worst times and make sure they get the support they need.
The United Nations noted that the earthquake damaged schools, hospitals and other public buildings, separated families and orphaned hundreds of children.
In making the appeal, the UN also said the country hosts the world’s largest number of refugees, with more than 1.74 million people living in the 11 provinces most affected by the quake.
Death toll increased in Turkey
Turkey’s disaster management agency, AFAD, revised the country’s death toll to 36,187. This brought the combined death toll for Turkey and Syria to 39,875.
The 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck at 4:17 a.m. local time injured more than 108,000 people in Turkey, and a first magnitude 7.5 earthquake was expected nine hours later.
Turkey’s state-run Anadolu agency reported that a 17-year-old girl was rescued Thursday morning from the rubble of a collapsed building in Kahramanmaras, a city located near the epicenter, 248 hours after the original quake.
The girl, Alina Olmez, told reporters from her hospital bed that she was fine and was trying to pass the time by distracting herself. “I didn’t have anything,” she said.
Hacer Atlas, a rescue worker involved in reaching Olmez, told Anadolu: “First we held his hand, then we pulled him out. you are on fire. She can communicate. I hope we keep getting good news about him.
incomplete picture in syria
The UN humanitarian coordinator for Syria said the death toll in the country was likely to rise further as teams scrambled to clear debris in badly affected areas.
In an interview with The Associated Press, Muhannad Hadi defended the UN response to the disaster, which has been criticized by many in Syria as slow and inadequate. Hadi said the UN urged “everyone to depoliticize the humanitarian situation and focus on supporting us as we reach out to people.”
The United Nations has reported a death toll of around 6,000 for the whole of Syria, including 4,400 in the rebel-held northwest of the country. The figure is higher than that reported by government officials in Damascus and civil defense authorities in the northwest, which reported 1,414 and 2,274 deaths, respectively.
If true, this would push the combined deaths in Syria and Turkey above 42,000.
“We are hoping that this number will not increase very much,” Hadi said. “But what we’re seeing … the devastation of this earthquake really doesn’t give us much hope that this will be the end of it.”
The global head of the Red Cross said after a visit to Syria’s largest city of Aleppo that there could be a “potential” of another cholera outbreak there due to the impact on access to housing, water, fuel and other basic necessities.
Aleppo has seen some of the worst fighting of the country’s ongoing civil war and experienced a cholera outbreak in late 2022. Jagan Chapgain, who is the secretary general of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, said families were living in makeshift shelters without adequate shelter. Heating urgently needed permanent housing.
“They are still living in very basic conditions in very cold school rooms,” he told The Associated Press in an interview. “If this continues for a long time, it will have health consequences.”
Chapgain said the disaster has also been devastating to the mental health of the Syrian people.
“If the struggle had broken his back, I think this earthquake is now breaking his spirit,” he said.
some search parties depart
Onlookers at Istanbul airport applaud to thank a 27-man team of Greek rescuers who were on their way back home after ending their mission to search for survivors in the badly hit city of Adıyaman in southern Turkey .
Team leader Ioannis Papasthis told Anadolu Agency late on Wednesday that he was leaving Turkey with “unforgettable memories”.
“On the one hand, there was love and a warm welcome from people, on the other hand, pain. The destruction was huge. The weather was cold. It affected me a lot,” the agency quoted him as saying.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said some 8,000 rescue and aid workers from 74 countries were still assisting Turkish teams in their efforts. He said that around 4,200 personnel from 15 countries have left.
“I want to thank each and every one of them,” Cavusoglu said during a joint news conference with his Costa Rican counterpart.
The worst disputes on NATO territory
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has described the earthquake in Turkey as the military alliance’s worst natural disaster.
“This is the deadliest natural disaster in the alliance’s territory since the founding of NATO,” Stoltenberg told reporters during a joint press conference with Cavusoglu in Ankara on Thursday. “We salute the courage of Turkey’s first responders and we mourn with you.”
Stoltenberg, who is due to visit the disaster area later, said the coalition had deployed thousands of emergency response personnel to support relief efforts.
“The focus going forward will be on reconstruction and supporting the displaced,” Stoltenberg said. He said the coalition would set up temporary housing for thousands of people displaced by the earthquake and also use its air capacity to transport tens of thousands of tents.
Meanwhile, Stoltenberg, who has been pressing Turkey to ratify Sweden and Finland’s membership in the alliance, insisted that the two Nordic countries were among those showing solidarity with Turkey. Sweden, Stoltenberg said, will hold an international donor conference in March.
Turkey has blocked applications from both countries to join NATO, arguing that Finland and Sweden need to crack down on groups that Ankara sees as a threat to national security.
Here’s a look at Thursday’s major developments in the aftermath of the quake:
UN appeals for $1 billion for Turkey
The United Nations has launched an appeal for $1 billion for humanitarian agencies in Turkey to help the millions affected by the earthquake.
A UN statement said funding from the appeal would target 5.2 million people, with resources going to aid organizations “to support government-led response efforts in areas including food security, safety, education, water and shelter”. to rapidly increase its operations.”
United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Martin Griffiths said the people of Turkey were experiencing “unspeakable heartache”. Griffith toured devastated areas of the country last week.
“I met with families who shared their stories of shock and devastation. We should stand by them in their worst times and make sure they get the support they need.
The United Nations noted that the earthquake damaged schools, hospitals and other public buildings, separated families and orphaned hundreds of children.
In making the appeal, the UN also said the country hosts the world’s largest number of refugees, with more than 1.74 million people living in the 11 provinces most affected by the quake.
Death toll increased in Turkey
Turkey’s disaster management agency, AFAD, revised the country’s death toll to 36,187. This brought the combined death toll for Turkey and Syria to 39,875.
The 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck at 4:17 a.m. local time injured more than 108,000 people in Turkey, and a first magnitude 7.5 earthquake was expected nine hours later.
Turkey’s state-run Anadolu agency reported that a 17-year-old girl was rescued Thursday morning from the rubble of a collapsed building in Kahramanmaras, a city located near the epicenter, 248 hours after the original quake.
The girl, Alina Olmez, told reporters from her hospital bed that she was fine and was trying to pass the time by distracting herself. “I didn’t have anything,” she said.
Hacer Atlas, a rescue worker involved in reaching Olmez, told Anadolu: “First we held his hand, then we pulled him out. you are on fire. She can communicate. I hope we keep getting good news about him.
incomplete picture in syria
The UN humanitarian coordinator for Syria said the death toll in the country was likely to rise further as teams scrambled to clear debris in badly affected areas.
In an interview with The Associated Press, Muhannad Hadi defended the UN response to the disaster, which has been criticized by many in Syria as slow and inadequate. Hadi said the UN urged “everyone to depoliticize the humanitarian situation and focus on supporting us as we reach out to people.”
The United Nations has reported a death toll of around 6,000 for the whole of Syria, including 4,400 in the rebel-held northwest of the country. The figure is higher than that reported by government officials in Damascus and civil defense authorities in the northwest, which reported 1,414 and 2,274 deaths, respectively.
If true, this would push the combined deaths in Syria and Turkey above 42,000.
“We are hoping that this number will not increase very much,” Hadi said. “But what we’re seeing … the devastation of this earthquake really doesn’t give us much hope that this will be the end of it.”
The global head of the Red Cross said after a visit to Syria’s largest city of Aleppo that there could be a “potential” of another cholera outbreak there due to the impact on access to housing, water, fuel and other basic necessities.
Aleppo has seen some of the worst fighting of the country’s ongoing civil war and experienced a cholera outbreak in late 2022. Jagan Chapgain, who is the secretary general of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, said families were living in makeshift shelters without adequate shelter. Heating urgently needed permanent housing.
“They are still living in very basic conditions in very cold school rooms,” he told The Associated Press in an interview. “If this continues for a long time, it will have health consequences.”
Chapgain said the disaster has also been devastating to the mental health of the Syrian people.
“If the struggle had broken his back, I think this earthquake is now breaking his spirit,” he said.
some search parties depart
Onlookers at Istanbul airport applaud to thank a 27-man team of Greek rescuers who were on their way back home after ending their mission to search for survivors in the badly hit city of Adıyaman in southern Turkey .
Team leader Ioannis Papasthis told Anadolu Agency late on Wednesday that he was leaving Turkey with “unforgettable memories”.
“On the one hand, there was love and a warm welcome from people, on the other hand, pain. The destruction was huge. The weather was cold. It affected me a lot,” the agency quoted him as saying.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said some 8,000 rescue and aid workers from 74 countries were still assisting Turkish teams in their efforts. He said that around 4,200 personnel from 15 countries have left.
“I want to thank each and every one of them,” Cavusoglu said during a joint news conference with his Costa Rican counterpart.
The worst disputes on NATO territory
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has described the earthquake in Turkey as the military alliance’s worst natural disaster.
“This is the deadliest natural disaster in the alliance’s territory since the founding of NATO,” Stoltenberg told reporters during a joint press conference with Cavusoglu in Ankara on Thursday. “We salute the courage of Turkey’s first responders and we mourn with you.”
Stoltenberg, who is due to visit the disaster area later, said the coalition had deployed thousands of emergency response personnel to support relief efforts.
“The focus going forward will be on reconstruction and supporting the displaced,” Stoltenberg said. He said the coalition would set up temporary housing for thousands of people displaced by the earthquake and also use its air capacity to transport tens of thousands of tents.
Meanwhile, Stoltenberg, who has been pressing Turkey to ratify Sweden and Finland’s membership in the alliance, insisted that the two Nordic countries were among those showing solidarity with Turkey. Sweden, Stoltenberg said, will hold an international donor conference in March.
Turkey has blocked applications from both countries to join NATO, arguing that Finland and Sweden need to crack down on groups that Ankara sees as a threat to national security.