This February 6, Turkey experienced one of the worst earthquakes to hit the world, with an epicenter of 7.8 magnitude, registering in the southeast of the country and also affecting Syria as it occurred near the border between the two countries. The death toll continues to rise with more than 7,700 so far, as well as thousands who have been injured.
The tremor struck at 4:17 am local time, but as the hours passed, strong aftershocks continued to hit the region, including a magnitude 7.5 one. It should be noted that at least a hundred aftershocks have been recorded and many more are likely to occur.
Through various media and social networks, the search days of the rescuers have been announced, in which several children have been able to be rescued whose bodies were found in a space between the tons of iron and concrete to resist .
According to official reports, at least 5,606 buildings collapsed during and after the earthquake in Turkey. In addition, according to UNICEF, “thousands of homes are likely to have been destroyed, displacing families and exposing them to the weather at a time of year when temperatures regularly drop,” as the death toll rises and emergency response teams Rescuers continue to search for survivors, thousands of homeless seek shelter.
Another earthquake was recorded in Turkey measuring 5.7 about 1 hour ago.#Turkey #turkey #earthquake #earthquake #shaking #Earthquake #Turkiye pic.twitter.com/VJPWeZJpo6
– SantiContreras (@SantiContreras) February 7, 2023
In the face of this catastrophe, countries such as Japan, Canada, Norway, the United States, Mexico, and Iraq, among others, have spoken out to provide the necessary assistance. Even Greece, a country with which Turkey has had some tensions, has sent aid. This was stated by Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the Prime Minister of Greece, who stated that this “is a time to temporarily put aside your differences” and focus on addressing the urgent situation.
However, according to Mitsotakis, there is no official interlocutor in Syria and no guarantee that the aid will reach the affected people, which makes relief efforts difficult to carry out, since, as we will remember, northwestern Syria has It has been in conflict since the civil war and there are areas controlled by anti-government rebels.
I want to emphasize this: This is not about geopolitics. It is not about recognizing any regime. It’s about saving people in horrible conditions who desperately need our help.
For her part, the UNICEF representative in Aleppo, Angela Kearney, assured that the hospitals in the affected Syria are “absolutely overloaded”, as they are full of patients with trauma, broken bones and lacerations. In addition, she added that while aid is beginning to reach the affected areas, there is still a need for blankets, food, clean water and medical care.