Hopes of finding more survivors dwindled on Friday in Turkey and Syria, some 100 hours after the violent earthquake that killed more than 21,000 people in one of the worst disasters in the region for a century.
By the editor
SAccording to the latest official reports, the earthquake, with a magnitude of 7.8, followed by more than a hundred tremors, killed at least 21,051 people, including 17,674 in Turkey and 3,377 in Syria.
The WHO estimates that 23 million people are “potentially exposed, including about five million vulnerable people” and fears a major health crisis that would cause even more damage than the earthquake.
Humanitarian organizations are particularly worried about the spread of the cholera epidemic, which has reappeared in Syria.
first aid
The EU sent first aid to Turkey hours after the quake on Monday. But it initially offered only minimal aid to Syria through existing humanitarian programs, due to international sanctions in place since the civil war began in 2011.
On Wednesday, Damascus officially requested EU assistance and the Commission asked member states to respond favorably to this request.
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European Commissioner Janez Lenarcic, coordinator of EU assistance, was in Gaziantep, in southeastern Turkey, on Thursday to meet Turkish officials but also humanitarian organizations active in northwestern Syria, the commission said.
Financial assistance
The World Bank announced Thursday that it will provide $1.78 billion in aid to Turkey and Washington an envelope of $85 million to Turkey and Syria. The US Treasury Department also announced the temporary lifting of certain sanctions related to the country, with the aim of seeing aid reach the affected populations as quickly as possible.
Earthquakes in Turkey and Syria: “Cholera is not inevitable”
France will release emergency aid to the Syrian population to the tune of 12 million euros. For its part, London announced Thursday additional financial aid of at least 3.4 million euros, for a total amount of nearly 4.3 million euros allocated to the White Helmets, the rescuers operating in the rebel zone.
