Earthquake death toll in Turkey, Syria passes 25,000

KAHRAMANMARAS, Turkey – Even after the wounded are treated and the trapped are freed from the rubble, the disaster of the earthquakes in Turkey may continue due to less immediate dangers.

The aftershocks of the earthquake could also manifest in a lack of water and sanitation, as well as frigid temperatures.

IsraAID’s initial exploratory team assessed that clean water would be one of the major problems for area residents following the tremors. “There will be a massive need for clean water,” said IsraAID press officer Shachar May.

The flow of critical United Nations aid from Turkey to northwest Syria has temporarily halted due to damage to roads and other logistical issues related to the deadly earthquake that struck the two countries on Monday, a UN spokesperson said.

"Some roads are broken, some are inaccessible. There are logistical issues that need to be worked through," Madevi Sun-Suona, spokesperson for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance (OCHA), told Reuters.

"We don't have a clear picture of when it will resume," she said.

Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay said on Tuesday that the death toll from the earthquakes centered in southeastern Turkey rose to 3,419, bringing the total including those killed in Syria to more than 5,000.

Speaking to reporters, Oktay said severe weather conditions made it difficult to bring aid to the affected regions and conduct rescues. He said only rescue and aid vehicles were being allowed to enter or leave Hatay, Kahramanmaras and Adiyaman, three of the most impacted provinces.

Rescue operations are focusing on those three provinces and Malatya, Oktay added.

At least 1,602 people were killed and thousands injured in Syria following a number of deadly earthquakes and aftershocks in neighboring Turkey, authorities and rescuers said on Tuesday.

State news agency SANA said at least 812 people were killed and 1,449 people injured in the government-held provinces of Aleppo, Latakia, Hama, Idlib and Tartous.

At least 790 people were killed in Syria's opposition-held northwest and 2,200 injured with the toll expected to "rise dramatically," the White Helmets rescue team said.

A magnitude 7.8 quake hit Turkey and neighboring Syria early on Monday, toppling thousands of buildings including many apartment blocks, wrecking hospitals, and leaving thousands of people injured or homeless.

A 5.7 magnitude earthquake struck Turkey's eastern region Tuesday morning, according to the EMSC.

This is a developing story.

Time is running out to save hundreds of families still trapped under the rubble of destroyed buildings after this week's devastating earthquake, the head of the Syrian opposition-run civil defense service said on Tuesday.

 
Raed al-Saleh told Reuters urgent help was needed from international groups for the rescue effort by the organization known as the White Helmets in rebel-held northwest Syria, where hundreds were killed and injured.

 
"Every second means saving lives and we call on all humanitarian organizations to give material aid and respond to this catastrophe urgently," he said.

The Israeli rescue and rescue mission landed at Adana airport in Turkey near the area impacted by recent earthquakes. After initial preparation, the rescue teams will make their way to the disaster areas and there they will begin the rescue operations.

Foreign Ministry personnel are preparing to receive the field hospital that is expected to arrive later.
 

An Earthquake with a magnitude of 5.6 struck central Turkey early Tuesday morning after earthquakes in Turkey and Syria on Monday left nearly 4,500 dead.

US President Joe Biden spoke with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Monday to offer condolences and reaffirm Washington's readiness to assist in rescue efforts after a huge earthquake killed thousands across a swathe of Turkey and northwest Syria, the White House said.

Biden "noted that US teams are deploying quickly to support Turkish search and rescue efforts and coordinate other assistance that may be required by people affected by the earthquakes, including health services or basic relief items," the White House said in a statement.

 A top UN humanitarian official said damage to roads, fuel shortages and harsh winter weather in Syria were hampering the agency's response to an earthquake on Monday that killed more than 1,200 in the country and left millions in need of aid.

The huge tremor, which also left more than 2,300 people dead in Turkey, sent people rushing into the streets in Syria's north, where past air strikes and shelling have already traumatized the population and weakened many buildings.

"The infrastructure is damaged, the roads that we used to use for humanitarian work are damaged, we have to be creative in how to get to the people... but we are working hard," UN resident coordinator El-Mostafa Benlamlih told Reuters in an interview via video link from Damascus.

Even before the magnitude 7.8 quake struck in the early hours of Monday morning, the UN estimated that more than 4 million people in northwest Syria, many displaced by the 12-year conflict and living in camps, depended on cross-border aid.

While Syrian frontlines have been largely frozen for years, a deepening economic crisis has exacted a heavy toll across the fractured nation, leading to fuel shortages, increased power cuts and growing deprivation.

Rescuers search for survivors under the rubble, following an earthquake, in rebel-held town of Jandaris, Syria February 6, 2023 (credit: REUTERS/MAHMOUD HASSANO)

The United Nations says the number of people in need of humanitarian support is greater than at any point since the war began, with 70% of the population requiring aid.

And that was before the quake struck.

Now, "they are the same people - suffering more," Benlamlih said.

He noted that many people whose homes had been destroyed were spending the night sleeping out in the open or in cars, often in freezing temperatures, without adequate access to basic items like jackets and mattresses.

He said the United Nations was working to mobilize all the aid it could to the affected zones - both in government-held and rebel-held areas - as quickly as possible.

But international support is stretched and underfunded.

The UN received less than half of the $4.4 billion it required from donors to meet growing needs in 2022, and if that trend continues, Benlamlih said prospects for a recovery from the Syrian crisis could dim.

"Whatever we have, we are using it for now. And hopefully we will be able to get that replenished for the normal needs," Benlamlih said.

"When we are getting less than 50% of funding, it's not that we managed.. The number of the people in need keep increasing and the crisis keeps deepening."